This Bollywood composer is keeping the art of symphony orchestra alive

Legendary band Chennai Strings Orchestra which has performed with AR Rahman record a song with Mannan ShaahMusic director Mannan Shaah is somewhat of an anachronism in todays day and age He doesnt like digitally composing his songs He would rather fly down to Chennai from Mumbai or even London for that matter collaborate with 30 musicians over a song irrespective of the time it takes and return feeling creatively high I have always been fascinated by symphony orchestras and it was my dream to record one says the 30yearold who began his career as a singer in 2011 with Vipul Shaahs Kucch Luv Jaisaa His desire to record with a symphony orchestra was fulfilled five years later when he turned composer for Commando 2 The song Tere Dil Mein sung by Armaan Malik was a product of a 16piece symphony orchestraNo oneman armyIts been a year since but the exhilaration is fresh In fact during the telephonic interview Shaah is in Dubai recording a song with Atif Aslam he tells us that next month he will be roping in a 32piece symphony band from Chennai Strings a legendary orchestra group that has performed with the likes of Ilayaraja and AR Rahman Certain songs require a depth and intensity which only a live symphony orchestra can create he saysTere Dil Mein was one such Set in an idyllic setting it was a romantic number composed to tug at heartstrings I wanted it have a soulful vibe along with a sense of grandeur for which I tried to seek out orchestra bands in the city he says The search came to a dead end when he realised that Mumbai barely has a culture of large ensembles Recording with independent musicians who play cello violin and viola and then training them before the actual recording would be cumbersome he thought It was then that his music arranger Prasad Sashte a senior sound engineer in Bollywood suggested collaborating with the Chennai band for the song I still remember how they got it right in the first take May be it comes with years of experience But I was stunned he recalls What Shaah was mesmerised by was the passion with which the musicians most of whom are in their 50s and 60s played That the players are willing to share invaluable inputs to elevate the quality of a song makes the session a twoway street where eclectic exchange of ideas take place Performing with multiple musicians at the same time on the same podium is something else he gushesThe sessions normally follow a format where initially they record the song with the entire 16 or 32piece orchestra together to generate a tonal quality After that individual takes are recorded from each player Shaah says he normally has four players on the viola another four on the violin two on double base and the rest on cello The individual bites are used for layering the song to lend it texture In terms of logistics the studios need to be large and the microphones sharp The positioning of the mic is paramount in capturing the voice quality and tones he saysA large investmentHe admits that such a venture requires a good amount of investment in time effort and money I have no problem with the time and effort Its a learning experience When it comes to money it takes a musicallyinclined filmmaker to realise what such an orchestra can bring to the table he saysFortunately Shaah says he has worked with likeminded filmmakers such as Vipul Shah who have happily parted with resources What happens in such collaborations is that many souls get attached to the song and thats what makes it timeless Take for instance JatinLalits songs from Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge or A R Rahmans Bombay They continue to live The challenge however lies in securing dates and timing to get so many musicians under roof Thats really the biggest hurdle but we dont see it as one because its so exciting and always worth the effort he saysThe digital makeoverBack in the 60s and 70s Shaah says such orchestra bands were the rage Its the onset of technology that led to their slow death I think technology has just made us lazy Honestly we put in only 20 per cent effort that musicians and composers would put back in the day he says He recalls an incident when he was composing a club song in Commando 1 titled Lutt Javan with legendary drummer and arranger Ranjit Barot The latters studio he says was old and hadnt been upgraded since the 90s He hadnt changed anything And when I asked him why he hasnt upgraded to new technology he said if I do I will stop playing these instruments myself The problem with digitally created songs feels Shaah is the tonal quality It lacks nuance and sounds monotonous Having said that not all songs lend themselves to an orchestra Its mostly romantic songs or those with a Sufi vibe that work best he saysCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates