Made in Heaven 2: Audiences enchanted by Gaurav Raina and Tarana Marwah's character-specific musical scores

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Tom-tomming about views that run into millions - often fabricated - can be one way of announcing the success of a musical offering. But, invest time in studying the tastes of music listeners, and you'll see that the focal point in the industry is certainly changing. ‘Where can I find the song played at Neelam's wedding? I have been looking for it,' reads one comment. ‘Where Karan meets Akshay? Been looking for it everywhere! (sic)' reads another. Instances, characters and moments from web
shows, it appears, are lingering on people's minds for longer than anticipated, and, inevitably, the musical minds that add dimension to such instances are being asked for access to their work.

"It's definitely happening," says Gaurav Raina, who composed the score of the recently released web offering, Made in Heaven 2. Referring to the makers, he shares, "This realisation is happening now because of people like Zoya [Akhtar], Nitya [Mehra], and Reema [Kagti], among others of course. They are choosing to present [music] in an international way; such that the music tells the story. It's not about selling songs or item numbers. They want to sell this story and let the music do precisely that."

Raina, who had been exploring the electronic music scene, admits that he was apprehensive about immersing himself into their world due to the fear of it "being like Bollywood". "But they wanted someone who was not from Bollywood, and wanted an international [vibe]. I reached out to Tarana [Marwah] because she's a fairly accomplished piano player and keyboardist. I needed her [help] in composing. We worked on a bunch of stuff, and when we sent it to the team, they said this was the direction they wanted to work towards," says Raina of the project that was supervised by Ankur Tewari.

Albeit a wedding show, Raina says the crux of Made in Heaven was the emotional storyline that drove it forward. "The most special [musical motif] for me was the character graph of Arjun Mathur. Across the show, we see his character struggling, enjoying, partying, and crying. He goes through a lot. Also, he is a good friend. Having to score for your friend who plays a character that goes through so many ups and downs was a lot of fun." For Marwah, it was the theme song of Made in Heaven 2 that remains special. "I wrote it a long time ago. Gaurav changed one or two notes, and it worked as the theme song. It's special to hear people singing it, because it was something that was mine, and now belongs to the world."