Music has been a part of my growing-up years and I even played for a band during my college days. But Bollywood happened by chance, says Amit Trivedi.

At a relatively young age, Amit Trivedi has made quite a name for himself, in Bollywood. He debuted as a composer for the critically-acclaimed film Aamir, and made waves with his brilliant score for the movie Dev D, which also won him a National Award.

With scores often drawing from rock and Sufi influences, Amit Trivedi has carved a niche for himself. Over the course of his musical journey, his cool touch has been sought out for offbeat films like Udaan, No One Killed Jessica, I Am, and more recently, Chillar Party. It’s clear that not only is he smart and talented, but also extremely passionate about what he does. Lavanya Srinivasan caught up with the musical prodigy for a quick chat. Excerpts from the interview:

So how did your first offer to score music for a film come up?
Music has been a part of my growing-up years and I even played for a band during my college days. But Bollywood happened by chance. Director Anurag Kashyap was looking for a new composer with an offbeat style and my friend, singer Shilpa Rao, introduced me to him. Dev D was originally my debut film, but Aamir was released before that. However, it was Dev D that put me on the map.

What was really cool about the project was that I got to work with a lot of great people, and creatively really ran the gamut of styles – there were Indian classical elements, rock elements; all sorts of music in one movie.

You won the National Award for Dev D’s eclectic soundtrack. Did you expect to bag it?
No, I had no inkling that I was even considered. I was in my studio recording for a movie and I got a congratulatory message from a journalist. I absolutely had no clue why, only when I switched on the TV, I got to know I’d won the National Award and it took an entire week to sink in. It was a very humbling experience and even today it pushes me to achieve perfection in everything I do.

From Dev D to Wake Up Sid to Aisha, there’s so much variety in your music. How do you keep your mind creatively focused on each project?
I definitely think that passion is my motto. I keep that as the key of doing what I’m doing because as musicians we passionately crave it; and always strive to be better at what we do. These days, songs are used to forward the narrative and have to be a blend of creative elements. So the trick is to maintain an organic flow of thoughts and ideas and be completely open to experimentation.

Industry insiders tout you to be the next A.R. Rahman, what do you have to say about that?
Oh, I still have a long way to go before we can be addressed on the same page. But it’s an absolute honour to be compared to a maestro like him. I’m a big fan of A.R. Rahman and his music has influenced me to a great deal and has changed things for me. I love how he constantly reinvents himself and comes back with something different every single time.

To me, your music has a touch of youthfulness and spunk. But how would you describe your music?
My music is intense with alternative rock and folk influences. However, I don’t restrict myself to one particular genre because it kills the whole purpose of experimentation. Like for instance Dev D was a mix of different styles of orchestration, Aisha was more mainstream and had fun, breezy numbers, whereas No One Killed Jessica had a whole grungy feel to it with a dash of rock and classical elements.

Where do you find inspiration while composing?
Inspiration is all around me. I don’t need to sit in my studio to compose a tune – it just comes to me. Everyday sights and sounds influence my music.

What role does the script play in the music composition of a film?
Script plays an important role and I have to get inspired to give my best. Everyone has their vision; of course, the director does because it’s his project. It’s a hard language but I keep the director’s brief and the script in mind before I compose. It’s like translating one’s vision into reality. I think as a composer you really have to be good at that.

Tell us a bit about your upcoming projects?
Currently, I’m scoring music for a Hollywood project called Trishna, which is based on Thomas Hardy’s novel “Tess of the d’Urbervilles”. It is being directed by Michael Winterbottom and stars Freida Pinto. The music is again quite different from what I’ve done before; it has rustic, folksy tunes.