Ankur Tewari: Like the characters, the music is fun

Bringing together a mixed bag of composers for the horror comedy, Phone Bhoot, supervisor Ankur Tewari on drawing inspiration from the script

In bringing together musicians with starkly different sensibilities, Ankur Tewari says he has justified the “wider palette” that the music of Phone Bhoot demanded. “Some projects are better enhanced with single [composers], some require multiple artistes. The [amalgamation] makes things more interesting. 

Working on this film was like being part of a mad house. We wanted to go wild with the sound-scape, and mirror the emotions to recreate the joyous vibe that was evident in the script. We wanted to make music that would make people [groove],” says Tewari, who, as the music supervisor on the film, brought together artistes like Roy, Tanishk Bagchi, Rochak Kohli, Mikey McCleary, and Lisa Mishra. 

Crediting Gurmmeet Singh for his quirky narrative, Tewari says the director discussed ideas that translated well on screen. He used his concepts to bring the assorted bunch of musicians on the same page. “Working with Roy was exciting. Rochak and Lisa came in with fresh sounds. They [presented] two mixes of the same song, and we decided to retain both.”

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A collaboration that particularly stands out is that involving Baba Sehgal. Point out that in the ’90s, Sehgal’s face was one that instantly brought a smile to one’s face,  and Tewari says it was precisely this emotion that he wanted to evoke in listeners, via the collaboration. 

“Having heard his music, [I knew that it had] the kind of humour that would fit the film’s requirement, hand in glove. He collaborated with Mikey McCleary to bring to life a song that was initially just an instrumental number. I was in search of a musician who could bring a smile to people’s faces. As soon as we began to discuss the concepts, he kept presenting interesting ideas, and was completely invested. His track is the Phone Bhoot theme song for which he came up with some quirky [elements], and words.” 

While in conversation with Tewari, it is easy to see that the composer was truly invested in the characters, essayed by Katrina Kaif, Siddhant Chaturvedi, and Ishaan Khatter. He says he wanted the music to be “as pleasing as the characters themselves”. 

“These are people you would love to spend time with. Even the villain is one you feel sorry for, and could like. While reading the script, we felt that the words were screaming at us. When we watched the actors perform during the rehearsals, and noticed their energy and vibe, we could create the suitable music. When you look at these faces, you could sketch a comic book.”

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