Breaking down barriers

Young music directors Gagan-Hari go with Bollywood singers in their debut film because they don't find the right talent in the Kannada film industry

Kannada film music has changed dramatically as a new breed of young music directors and singers has taken over. The latest to join the bandwagon are Gagan-Hari, who are set to make a rocking debut with the film, Bisile.

Bisile, directed by software engineer-turned filmmaker Sandeep, has Diganth and Jennifer Kotwal in the lead roles. The shooting is almost complete.

"We couldn't have asked for a better debut than Bisile. Sandeep, the director, gave us complete freedom and was receptive to our ideas and suggestions. He never interfered in our work," says Hari.

No local flavour

Popular Bollywood playback singers like Sonu Nigam, Hariharan, Chitra, Shaan, Kunal Ganjawala and Sunidhi Chauhan have lent their voices to the tracks of Bisile, which the director describes as a romantic-comedy.u00a0u00a0

"We wanted to do everything in a big way. And that's the reason why we have roped in big names from Bollywood," says Gagan.

Didn't they find suitable talent in Sandalwood? "Our songs demanded their (Bollywood singers') voices. There are good singers in the Kannada film industry, but their voices did not suit our music," he adds.

For pub-crawlers

The tracks range from romantic duets to hip-hop to raaga-based songs. "It's the first time that hip-hop has been used in a Kannada film. We are targetting the youth," says Hari.

"A large chunk of music listeners today comprises youngsters, who listen to their favourite songs on iPods and FM radio. They frequent pubs and parties. This crowd likes new sounds and is ready for innovative tracks," he explains.

Hari (24) says he started composing music from his school days. "My friends and I formed a band called Virus," he chuckles. He then headed off to Chennai to pursue his degree in Sound Audio Engineering. A chance meeting with Gagan (22) led to a firm friendship and business partnership between the two. Gagan, who has done a course in electronic music, has also worked as DJ in London.u00a0

Like countless young musicians, A R Rahman is their idol. "Rahman's lilting tunes inspired me to make a career in music. I have not met him but I would love to present him the album of Bisile," says Hari.

Sufi next

Their next project is an album of Sufi music, for which Javed Akhtar has written the lyrics. "Javed sir has the gift of expressing profound thoughts in simple language," gushes Gagan.