They were the men behind one of the most popular chartbusters of the 90s. Remember Mumbhai with Javed Jaffery chanting the underworld mantra in that typical bhai lingo? Well, the Bombay Boys music-makers, Ashutosh Pathak and Dhruv Ghanekar (Ashu-Dhruv in short), have come a long way since then. After setting music to White Noise (Koel Purie below), they are on to bigger grounds ? conceiving a rock opera on celluloid.

They were not together initially. Ashutosh used to play for a band named Orphean Revival, while Dhruv played the guitar for a band named Chakravyuh. ?It was a television talk show where both bands were invited and we met for the first time,? recalls Ashutosh. ?After that he came to my studio to record some demos and we immediately clicked. Thereafter we got together to create music.?

The first big project Ashu-Dhruv worked on was the background score of Pooja Bhatt?s debut production Tamanna. ?It was after hearing our work in that film that Kaizad Gustad asked us to do the music for Bombay Boys,? says Ashutosh. ?He had come for a preview of Tamanna and that was it. Initially the song Mumbhai wasn?t supposed to be a part of the film. But it became so popular that Kaizad decided to include it at the end, with the credits.?

But it was advertising where the two scored big time. ?We have done so many ad jingles,? laughs Dhruv. ?Sometimes, almost one daily. From Hutch to ICICI, we have set to tune the commercials of many a big company. And now, we have evolved into a company named Smoke Music Productions. Apart from the two of us,we have four other music directors on board ? Sanjay, Harmeet, Vivek and now, Amit Heri, the guy who gave the music for Morning Raga.?

Just three films ? Bombay Boys, Morning Raga and Sunhil Sippy?s Snip in between ?do not worry the two melody makers. ?We?re building our brand,? says Ashutosh. ?People know what to expect from us when they sign us on. Also, by doing ad jingles, we?re getting acquainted with everything from hip-hop to jazz to rock ?? roll.?

But it is the rock opera Ashutosh is looking forward to. ?It will have 19 songs and will be half-animated and half-live action. Simi Nallaseth will shoot the film. She was the animator for the international animation flick Ice Age. We?re planning to call the opera I. It is like an introspection of someone finding himself through music.?

While all six musicians are working towards their own albums, Ashu-Dhruv want to enter movies in a big way.

?Before this, we weren?t ready, in mind, body and soul to enter the space called movies. Now we have that freedom. We love cinema and want to create something different from what?s shelled out nowadays. I don?t want to reproduce something you hear on Channel [V] or MTV. Something more real. The bridge will be gapped when the audience accepts our music,? Ashutosh signs off.