Renowned Bollywood singer and composer Clinton Cerejo, along with Bianca Gomes, the duo behind the pop band Shor Police, has created the mixbag album of Netflix’s Dhoom Dhaam. Known for blending contemporary and Indian sounds, they have crafted six diverse tracks that enhance the film’s narrative. The romantic ballad Silsila, sung by Arijit Singh and Jonita Gandhi, and the upbeat How Are You, featuring Clinton Cerejo, Romy, Benny Dayal, and Asees Kaur, have already resonated with audiences. Other songs include Haseeno, a pop-rock track by Vishal Dadlani, Madman On The Run, a rock anthem with vocals by Bianca Gomes, and Chanchal, a ghazal-inspired piece by Muheet Bharti. Cerejo was drawn to the project after he got a call from producer Aditya Dhar and found the film’s concept compelling. The duo collaborated closely with Dhar and director Rishab Seth to align the music with the film’s vision, even involving lead actress Yami Gautam to ensure that the songs matched the film’s mood. Lyricist Siddhant Kaushal infused cultural authenticity by blending Punjabi and Hindi lyrics, reflecting the backgrounds of the film’s lead characters. A t2 chat.

Dhoom Dhaam has a high-energy vibe. What was your main inspiration behind the album’s sound?

Bianca: The film has a lot of action sequences, making it incredibly fun. Scoring it was quite a challenge since different parts required different moods — some serious, like when Yami leaves her ex-boyfriend’s house — and others high-energy — like the chase sequence. The best part was Aditya Dhar’s clear vision; he knew exactly how he wanted the music to sound for each character and scene. That guidance really helped us shape the score. We loved working on both the intense action pieces and the softer, more romantic moments.

Clinton: In today’s era of multi-composer films, it was refreshing to handle the entire score ourselves, allowing us to create a seamless sonic identity. The distinction between songs and the background score often blurred — we composed songs that worked as underscore and crafted score pieces that naturally evolved into songs. This approach brought a unique cohesion to the film’s sound, something that has become increasingly rare in Bollywood. Having full creative control over the musical storytelling was an exciting challenge, and we’re thrilled with how it all came together.

How was your experience working with the film’s director? Did they have a specific vision for the music?

Clinton: You know, Rishabh and I would also include Aditya in this process because they were part of the sessions, and we would always have those continuous conversations about how to approach a particular situation. And it was amazing. I mean, you know, there was like a constant endeavour to, you know, just kind of every time we came up with an idea, we would only try and better it.

Bianca: It was a cool process — like songwriters just coming together in a room. Even with the director and producer involved, they had such a clear vision of the score, especially knowing what they didn’t want. We went through multiple versions of some songs, tweaking elements until everything felt just right. Some songs weren’t even written in a studio — we took a guitar and keyboard to Aditya and Yami’s place, sat on the sofa, and created music together. It was a fun and organic process.

If you could swap places with any musician for a day, who would it be and why?

Bianca: Maybe John Mayer because he’s my favourite musician, but in a swap place would be dealing with his band, yeah, but I would have rehearsed with his band.

Clinton: I think it would be Hans Zimmer because I would love to be sitting opposite Christopher Nolan in the room and asking Christopher how he wants a scene to be scored.

What’s your go-to playlist when you’re not working on music?

Bianca: I like to know what’s going on out there in the Top 40 world because it’s very hard to keep up with new music these days there’s so much of it. So, I like to sometimes go to a playlist which either has Indian and independent artists that are coming out, or, sometimes it’s the international playlist, where, unfortunately, every single song has an explicit sign on it. So it’s very hard to hear that with my child in the house. So, mainly I stick to the local independent artists.

Clinton: For me, I think I rely a lot on Bianca for what’s going on with the newer music and stuff like that because these days my playlist is silence; I love not listening to music when I don’t have to listen, when I don’t have to make music. I love just listening to silence.

Can you walk us through your creative process when composing for a film?

Clinton: The first and most important decision on day one is where to order food from — it genuinely influences the creative process! Beyond that, it’s all about understanding the director we’re working with. Every director brings a different energy, which can place us anywhere on an emotional XY axis — ranging from total confidence to uncertainty. Working with a director multiple times builds familiarity, but even after several films, a new collaboration can still feel unpredictable. My prep always revolves around assessing this dynamic, figuring out how easily ideas will flow or if we need to spend more time understanding the director’s vision before diving in.

If you had to remix one classic Bollywood song in the Dhoom Dhaam style, which one would you pick?

Bianca: I really like Aaj ki raat. Ultimately, we didn’t get around to doing it. But yeah, a cool disco song would be fine.