Some songs are fated to outlive the film they belong to, living on as listeners keep going back to them, month on month, year on year. Awarapan’s (2007) chartbusters Tera Mera Rishta and Toh Phir Aao enjoyed that distinction over the two decades since they were released. When Awarapan 2 revisited one of Bollywood’s most enduring soundtracks, composer Mithoon had the tricky task of carrying forward a legacy without tampering with its core. The composer shares with mid-day how he found Emraan Hashmi’s character Shivam’s new sound while respecting the one listeners never forgot.

Awarapan’s music became an inseparable part of Shivam Pandit’s story. What made you say yes to the sequel?
My relationship with Vishesh Films is very special. I started my career with them 20 years ago, when Mukesh Bhatt gave me my first film, Anwar. Over the years, the films I have done with him, Anwar, Murder 2, Kalyug, Aashiqui 2 and Hamari Adhuri Kahani, have always come to me for the right reasons. There is a certain connection or conversation that needs to happen. I know that if they have come to me, there is a reason. Then, when I heard it was Awarapan, that Vishesh was producing it and Emraan was coming back as Shivam, I felt very connected to that world. I started my career at 18, so I was still a boy when the first Awarapan came out. That story and that world mean a lot to all of us who were growing up at that time.