On winning notes

Bollywood music composer and singer Jeet Ganguly credits his success in the Hindi film industry to his talent. He shares his  musical journey with Srabanti Chakrabarti.

If an award were to be given to a music director with the maximum number of awards the previous year, it would undoubtedly go to Jeet Ganguly. The man behind the success of Aashique 2, Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi, Blood Money and Citylights is one of the most sought-after music directors in Bollywood.

Jeet hails from Kolkata and has music in his genes — his father Kali Ganguly being a renowned accordion player, and mother a singer. “I probably started learning music from my mother’s womb. I am the 18th-generation representative from my father’s family who is into music. My grandfather Panchugopal Gangopadhyay was a classical singer and my great grandfather Sashibhusan Bandhopadhyay was a famous sitar player. My father used to play Indian classical music on accordion. That enraged my grandfather so much, since he thought accordion was a foreign instrument and could not be used for Indian music.”

Kali Ganguly played with composers like Salil Chowdhury, R D Burman and Sudhin Dasgupta. Born into such a family, it was but natural for Jeet to start learning music at age four. He started with tabla and went on to play congo and thumba. “My maternal grandfather was the famous sports journalist Gopal Mukhopadhyay. He and my uncle performed street plays, which were popular back then. While in class 6, I started participating in plays and composing songs for them. That’s when my father noticed some talent in me, I think.”

Driving force

Jeet feels that was the turning point in his life. “My mother bought me a tape recorder and recorded all my compositions. My father once heard them and was delighted.” During his teens, Jeet’s interest in football grew. Things reached a stage when his father asked him to choose between music and football. He chose the former and started learning to play the guitar.

But it was a tough time on the personal front since Jeet’s father met with an accident and was bedridden for a year. “I started taking lessons in guitar from musician Carlton Kitto. I also performed in shows to support my family. I composed jingles from the early 90s,” Jeet remembers. And then came the big phase of his life after he met singer Anoop Jalota. “Anoopji came to Kolkata for a show. One of his lead musicians was absent, so I was asked to play in his place. I was very nervous but somehow managed it. At the end of the show, he was very happy. He asked me to play for the rest of his shows in Kolkata.”

Apparently, Jalota was so impressed that he met Jeet’s parents and asked their permission to take their son to Mumbai. “Initially, both were reluctant. Since my father’s condition was not stable, I could not think properly. My parents convinced me to move to Mumbai as they felt I would get due recognition there.”

In 1996, Jeet moved to Mumbai. “Through Anoopji, I met Ghulam Ali, with whom I went abroad to perform in a few shows. I also played a lot with Hariharan. I stayed in the suburb of Kalyan and travelled by train with my guitar.” The year 1996 was also when Jeet met composer Pritam through a common friend. “We decided to work together for Tere Liye and Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, which got a good response from listeners. We then split, but remain good friends to this day.” 

Jeet is the most popular music composer in Bengal today. “My wife Chandrani and I often went to Kolkata during Durga Puja, which made me realise that I miss the golden Bengali songs. So, I started composing Bengali songs in films like Premi, Shuvodrishti.” What happened after that was history.

He got nationwide fame with Aashique 2. On how he met the Bhatts, he recounts, “Mukesh Bhatt called someone in Kolkata who had one of my Bengali compositions as his caller tune. Impressed by it, he contacted me. Initially, I thought someone was playing a prank on me. But, after a discussion, he asked me to meet him. I also met Mahesh Bhatt.” Blood Money happened then.

Work speaks

In the 18 years he’s been in the industry, not once has he been to any producers’ office to ask for work, he says. “Talent always speaks for me. Bhatt brothers are very musical. Then I got a call from Sanjay Leela Bhansali who, on hearing one of my Bengali compositions, called me for Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi,” he adds. 

Jeet always made a point in front of producers that he would never leave Bengali music, his aim being its revival. Jeet is also one of the composers who has used the same tune in both the languages (Bengali and Hindi) — a trend that was popular during the days of S D Burman, R D Burman and Salil Choudhury.

So, what is his dream? “My dream is to give a classical touch to Hindi film songs. We are rich with all the raagas. We should take inspiration from it and set an example for future listeners,” he says. Jeet’s next few films are Vashu Bhagnani’s Welcome To Karachi, Khamoshiyaan and Tu Hi Mera by Mahesh Bhatt.