Music composers Sachin and Jigar, the pair behind the chartbusting music of movies such as Happy Ending and Go Goa Gone, talk about their journey from relative obscurity to popularity
Anybody who’s seen or heard the climactic song of the 2013 movie ABCD: Any Body Can Dance, Sadda Dil Vi Tu, is bound to think that the song must have taken a couple of days, if not weeks, to compose. However, when we meet Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya, the brains behind the smash hit, they reveal a different story. “We didn’t have a song for the climax and the video had to be shot in the evening,” Jigar recalls, adding that they came up with the song only a few hours before the final sequence got shot. But try congratulating the duo for their success and they credit the movie’s director, Remo D’Souza, for the song. “Any other director in his position would have asked us to quit the project before moving on to another composer. But he had faith in us and that’s why we could deliver,” says Sachin.
Music composers Sachin and Jigar at their studio in Andheri. Pic/Satyajit Desai
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Right people, right time
Remo is not alone in having trusted the duo. In fact, the musicians’ journey in the industry rode high on the faith of many people, who made them one of the most sought after musical jodis in tinseltown, with movies such as Shor in the City, Go Goa Gone, Ramaiya Vastavaiya, Shuddh Desi Romance, Happy Ending and songs such as Shake Your Bootiya (Finding Fanny) and Dance Basanti (Ungli) as part of their repertoire.
Hailing from Gujarat, the duo met in 2003, when Sachin’s good friend and music composer Amit Trivedi introduced the two to each other. They assisted music director Pritam for a couple of years before forming a team to independently compose music for movies.
It was Pritam, again, who encouraged them to step out of his shadow. “People have godfathers in the industry, but for us, Pritam sir is like a father. He sat us down one day, and said if you guys work hard, then I can see you composing really good music by 2013-2014,” recalls Jigar.
They, however, had their share of struggles — the song Party Abhi Baaki Hai was rejected by at least three big directors, before it became a part of the 2011 movie F.A.L.T.U. and a party anthem. But the duo is grateful that they were able to keep the negativity out and focus on the positives during the testing time. They also candidly admit that their most-downloaded track — Jeene Laga Hoon from Ramaiya Vastavaiya — was a letdown for some of their director friends, who expected more. “But sometimes there is an inconsistency between what you want and what the director asks for,” justifies Sachin. “As professional musicians, we have to cater to various demands even though we, personally, may want to do something else,” he says, adding that at times, one has to unlearn lessons, too. “I might have learnt eight or 10 new chords, but if a song demands a simple tune, then I have to deliver only that much,” says the music composer.
Their forthcoming projects include Remo’s ABCD2 and his other unnamed project, Shreeram Raghavan’s Badlapur, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK’s Farzi. “When directors put their faith in us, we feel responsible for delivering good work. For instance, we could have easily done a remix of Meri Pant Bhi Sexy for Govinda in Happy Ending, but Dinu (producer Dinesh Vijan), told us that we need to show the actor in today’s avatar. We worked on a song for two nights and that’s how Nacho Saare G Phaad Ke happened,” reveals Jigar.
Lean on me
Talking about their work equation, the musicians explain that when its time to sit down and compose music together, the two rely on each other. Of his partner, 34-year-old Sachin says, “Jigar will challenge every idea that he creates. Then, he will relentlessly tire you out by challenging you, too. He’s a very difficult customer.” He adds that he keeps Jigar in check by telling him when to stop experimenting. “When we met for the first time, we hit it off as we could have a conversation without bringing the work factor in — which is true even today,” he says.
Jigar, on the other hand, has mastered a balancing act of another kind. The 32-year-old is married to lyricist and singer Priya Panchal, with whom he has worked with on various projects. “Priya was a friend first, and after Sachin played ‘Gujarati cupid’, we got married,” he says. “It’s amazing to work together because I know I have somebody who can be honest if she doesn’t like something and vice versa.”
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