On a high note: Arko Pravo Mukherjee

After the laugh riot The Shaukeens last year, Arko Pravo Mukherjee has composed music for a host of films this year.

For Tina and Lolo, directed by Devang Dholakia, he has composed two songs. “While one is a retro club song featuring Sunny Leone, she will also be seen in an ‘item’ number,” said Mukherjee.

The film centers around Leone and Karishma Tanna who set out on a road trip. Mukherjee, who usually writes his own songs has also given music for Dholakia’s Kuch Kuch Locha Hai starring Leone and Ram Kapoor as its protagonists.

His compositions in the film includes the remake of R.D. Burman’s Jaane do na from Saagar and another rap-hip-hop song which is picturised at a pool party has been composed and sung by rapper Ikka and Mukherjee. “Jaane… is a promotional song on Leone, I’ve only used the mukhdas from the original song and have written and composed the rest of it myself.

The song has another version which has been sung by Ankit Tiwari and Shweta Pandit,” explained Mukherjee.While both Tina… and Kuch… are light-hearted films, he has also scored the entire soundtrack for Bombairiya, which is a thriller-caper and the story of three people whose lives cross when something goes missing.

Of the three tracks, one is an Indian Sufi song, another, a folk turned into pop jazz song as well as a thematic fast-paced rock song. “The thematic song is like the film’s title track and is about the city and its madness. It’s an alternative rock song with electronic beats, notes of the guitar, beats of the live drum and sounds like a live rock band playing.

Talking about the Sufi song, Mukherjee explained, “In Bairiya, I have used traditional instruments like the sarangi, flute and Indian rhythm instruments. Bairiya literally means enmity, but in this context, it means the one who is separated or has gone away.”

However, most interesting is a folk turned into a pop-jazz song. “The song’s essence has been derived from North Indian pahadi folk. Its production is completely different and westernised; it has been scored using the guitars and flute.

As its been produced in the pop-jazz format, I’m classifying it in the pop-jazz genre,” explained Mukherjee as he spoke about his most eclectic composition. Mukherjee also has a 10-song deal with Tips and a deal with Dharma Productions. “I’ll be scoring music as and when they get films. One of the films I’ll also be working on is one from
Dharma Productions to be directed by Sonam Nair.”