TOI gets a ringside view of composers Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy setting Gulzar's lyrics to music for the India Poised anthem.

The heart-thumping score reverberates in the plush recording studio in Bandra. As the crescendo rises and falls, fingers drum out a rhythm and three heads nod in satisfaction. After 10 days of experimenting and one very crucial “sitting session’’ with lyricist Gulzar, composers Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy have the India Poised anthem ready for listeners. Rich with imagery and metaphors, the anthem embodies the upbeat mood of an India marching towards the horizon and beyond. Written by Gulzar, the lyrics (Phalak pakad ke utho Aur hawa pakad ke chalo) were already charged with the spirit of a movement. It was imperative that a great musical score be woven around them, a score that enhanced the tempo and built it up. And who better to do this than the leading composers of today, Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy?

When TOI approached the young musicians to compose the score for the anthem, they got down to the creative process immediately. “The words emotionally charged us up. After all they are written by the great Gulzar,’’ says Shankar who has also sung the anthem. At first, the trio brainstormed on the approach they should take to bring out the beauty of the lyrics. They spent hours in the studio laying down the music track, editing it, inserting the voices and re-opening and looking at it. “The word ‘poised’ itself suggests something ready to take off, like a rocket. We wanted to create something that pushes the emotions into a different realm altogether,’’ says Loy Mendonsa. Two compositions — one a flowing melody and the other with three distinct

parts — were readied first. “But they were one-dimensional and did not bring out the emotional resonance of the lyrics,’’ says Shankar. Then the composers had a day-long ‘sitting’ with Gulzar, with whom they had worked in their first film Rockford. The four of them put their heads together and jammed, Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy’s youthful energy synergising with the patience and encouragement of the veteran Gulzar.

The creative quartet decided to lay emphasis on the words ‘chale’ and ‘chalo’ to give the anthem the feel of a mass movement. Gulzar told TOI, “In earlier decades, music directors and lyricists would have a sitting and only then would the creative process begin. How else would we have got the classic music of those days?’’

After the session, the composers came up with the final score that effectively conveyed the emotionally stirring words.
Shankar Mahadevan got Sukhwinder Singh, one of the few singers in the country who can render emotions in a high pitch, to sing a part of the anthem with him. “One phone call and Sukhwinder came over to the dubbing studio in 20 minutes,’’ says Shankar. The two singers pumped up the anthem with their distinctive styles, the differing grain and texture of their voices contributing to the creation of an inspiring piece of work. “It is a very strong and well-rendered melody if I may say so myself,’’ says Shankar.