When Sneha Khanwalkar asked CTRL director Vikramaditya Motwane the reason behind his decision to bring her aboard the Ananya Panday-fronted project, she was attempting to decipher what the filmmaker was seeking as far as the film’s soundtrack was concerned. “He wanted a postmodern sound; something experimental,” she recalls, pointing to the narrative that sheds light on the use of artificial intelligence. “Vikram wasn’t fixated on any particular genre of music, so I could explore a different sonic [space]; use a bit of synth, and sample recordings. It’s not the kind of film for which he could say, ‘Let’s use hip-hop or rock.’

"The film is about one’s relationship with technology, and each of us is building our own. It’s evolving every day. So we didn’t have a set direction. Also, melodies reveal one’s thoughts and feelings. They can tell you how futuristic you are as a thinker, and also reveal a lot about a character. So, we stuck to certain kinds of melodies, sounds, and instruments,” says Khanwalkar, crediting her teammates, Venkat Iyer and Yash Sahai for helping her bring the soundtrack to life.