MUSIC INTERVIEW: EHSAAN NOORANI
Bollywood's Acclaimed Musical Trio Arrives in Los Angeles for Electrifying Concert Tour
Three of the biggest names in Bollywood music made their respective ways to Los Angeles on August 1st, as Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, or SEL, brought their amazing talents to the Sports Arena for an evening concert in the shadows of the University of Southern California. A guitarist, composer, and music instructor who studied music with Mr. Bismarck Rodrigues, Ehsaan Noorani has won numerous awards alongside Shankar Mahadevan and Loy Mendonsa for their collective works in Bollywood, including three nods (National Film, Filmfare, IIFA) for Best Music Direction in Kal Ho Naa Ho. Among the other films Ehsaan has provided music for alongside Shankar and Loy are Bunty Aur Babli (Filmfare and IIFA Awards for Best Music Direction), Don – The Chase Begins, Taare Zameen Par, Rock On!!, My Name is Khan, and Tere Bin Laden.
Buzzine Bollywood’s Neha Sarin-Malhotra caught up with Ehsaan before his Los Angeles performance alongside Shankar and Loy on Sunday evening. Here is what one of Bollywood’s most acclaimed playback singers had to say:
Neha Sarin-Malhotra: You started in a jazz band, but now you are one of Bollywood’s elite musicians. How did the transformation happen?
Ehsaan Noraani: It was not so much from a jazz band; it was more like we were composing music for advertising, and from there, I met Mukul Anand who said that he was doing a film. So it was more through advertising that things worked out — advertising because Mukul Anand was a feature filmmaker who was also doing advertising.
NSM: Is that how you decided to give Bollywood a shot?
EN: In the beginning, I refused because the 1990s were not a very good time for Indian cinema. There were all kinds of weird directors and producers, but I knew Mukul well so I wasn’t very keen on stepping into this industry. He said, “Please, please, do one song,” so we did one song and we haven’t looked back since.
NSM: Did you study music in Los Angeles? And at what point did you take your talent seriously enough to make it a profession?
EN: Well, you know how one (can be) confuse(d) after finishing college about what to do next. (In) India, one, there are not a lot of options, and two, you don’t know if you are doing the right thing. You end up doing something because there is nothing else to do. So my folks said, “Why don’t you study music? We will send you.” I was very excited but also very scared about what I (was) going (to) do after I finished that one year of music.
NSM: How was your experience staying in Los Angeles? Any fond memories?
EN: I consider them the best years of my life because you are in an environment with so many musicians all the time, interacting with them and playing music with them and all the instructors. The guest faculty was very good. You meet the people who you have actually dreamt about, so it was lovely. My skill and knowledge went up tenfold.
NSM: How did the three of you (Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy), from different backgrounds and religions, come together?
EN: We’re used to working the studious, doing work for advertising. Shankar used to sing for us, and Loy and I were working together all the time. That’s how we came together. But we had so many influences.
NSM: This is your first time performing in the United States — how has the experience been so far?
EN: So far it’s been fantastic! All the shows that we have done have been rocking.
NSM: You have stayed in Los Angeles earlier, and now you are performing here. How excited are you?
EN: Life comes full circle, as I have studied here and now I am performing here. I am back here playing at the big arena (the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena). We are meeting friends everywhere, practically in every city that we are traveling to.
NSM: When the three of you are together, is it all play and little work or vice versa?
EN: Oh boy! People working with us think that these guys don’t take their work seriously. We have a lot of fun. There is a lot of joking all the time, and that’s how the experience should be — making music is all about fun. It should not be about sitting around and being serious.
NSM: When three minds come together, there are bound to be clashes. What eventually brings you guys back on the same page?
EN: Definitely, all the time! And it should be that way. If you “okay” each others work, the final product may not be as good. The thing is, finally the sing is the king — to compose the music and keep that as the focus. You have to make objective decisions about your music too. That really is what makes the product good.
NSM: What kind of music do you enjoy?
EN: I love the Blues, I love jazz, rock, film soundtracks, electronic music… But the Blues would be my favorite music.
NSM: Do you miss making that kind of music?
EN: Yes and no! That is not what I am doing full-time — this is my profession. We do have other bands that we play with and do that kind of music with.
NSM: I am sure composing for Rock On!! must have been crazy…
EN: Oh, it was really a lot of fun. It was something that was very close to us, especially Loy and me coming from that kind of background (in rock-and-roll). It came very naturally to us.
NSM: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (SEL) has created some groundbreaking music. Where do you guys draw the inspiration from?
EN: There is so much music that one listens to all the time when you are watching films. I’ve got more than 1,000 CDs kept at home — stuff I haven’t even heard as (of) yet. That is what you do — you listen to stuff and you let it inspire you, and of course the music you play makes a difference, as all three of us are musicians. An instrument dictates the way it’s composed. Loy’s piano playing dictates the way he composes, Shankar’s singing, and also Shankar himself plays keyboards very well.
NSM: What’s next for SEL?
EN: We have a bunch of films coming up. We have Patiala House, and we are working on Don 2 and Zoya Akhtar’s next film called Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and the remake of Stepmom called We R Family, which should be releasing in a few weeks. The film has Kajol and Kareena, and that film’s music has turned out very nice. We’re starting work on Shyam Bengal’s new film. So there are a bunch of nice films happening.
NSM: There were talks about a music school…?
EN: That is something we are still discussing. It will take a little while.
NSM: Is a non-film album by SEL on the cards?
EN: That is something we should have done a couple of years ago. In fact, every time we plan it, it gets postponed, but this year we are making a conscious effort to do the songs.
NSM: How have the audiences in the U.S. been treating you guys so far?
EN: It’s been very good. The thing is that a lot of people don’t know us as performers. They hear songs and they hear the singer’s names, but the audiences have gone back with an experience that they won’t ever forget.
