Rochak Kohli: Vishal Dadlani is a multi-talented man with a great attitude

Music composer Rochak Kohli talks about the making of the lullaby-based Lalla Lalla Lori from Welcome 2 Karachi.
READ: ​Welcome 2 Karachi Movie Review
How did the music for Welcome 2 Karachi happen?
Welcome 2 Karachi initially had a Sufi approach towards music, with Irrfan and Arshad (Warsi) playing the two characters. It was then a very subtle script which was not an out-and-out comedy. Vrajesh Hirjee (the film’s writer) is a good friend and used to narrate over coffee sessions the scenes which he wrote.I was asked to compose a song for the film. I met the director Ashish (R Mohan) and gave them a Sufi song, Walli waras, which became the theme song for the film. Later, Jackky (Bhagnani) came in and the film had a much younger approach. Thus the music had to be young and contemporary, so it was dropped. I really loved composing the last song, Mera yaar funtastic.
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What was the brief for Lalla Lalla Lori?
Jackky wanted a promotional song for the film, as all the other songs were situational. One day, he frantically called and asked me to try out a fun version of the lullaby. He had earlier tried it out with four other composers but nobody could crack it. It took me two days. Jackky was jumping with joy when he heard the first cut. Getting Vishal (Dadlani) to sing was fun. He is a multi-talented man with a great attitude. He is like that cool senior in college with whom you love to hang around. The lyrics are really funny. It didn’t take much for me to write those words. You just have to imagine a bigda hua dilli ka launda and it’s all there! As the song caught on, our friends’ “socially aware” organisations woke up and asked to ban the song. The court later rejected the PIL and I knew the song was now a hit. I’m thankful to the film’s makers for allowing me to experiment with genres that weren’t my forte.
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Tell us about Boat ma kukdookoo.
As the film was based on two Gujju characters, we needed a quirky Gujarati number. Hirjee helped me crack the idea for it. He would take me on a drive and we’d discuss the funny incidents at a typical garba party. Mika (Singh) is always a fun experience to record and he added spunk. Jackky was supervising the music.
You have a long association with Ayushmann Khurrana right from your debut film.
Ayushmann and I go back a long way. We got to know of each other in Class 8, when he joined the same school I was studying in (St Johns, Chandigarh). Casually one morning, I was playing percussion with my table and geometry box, when Ayushmann sat on the desk and started singing, Hai apna dil to awara. We became great friends later, joined the same college, pursued music and theatre, travelled places and had the greatest times together. Ayushmann joined acting and I got into radio, which was a great step towards me being a music composer. He played Pani da rang to Shoojit Sircar, who was directing his debut film Vicky Donor and so our debut song happened.
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How did music composing happen? I decided to be a music composer during my radio days. I come from a family of lawyers and my father is a retired government official. I’ve always been a naughty child, so when I decided to take up law after schooling, they were a little relieved (sadda munda hun wadda ho gya hai). I went to DAV College, Chandigarh, which was a transforming point in my life. I was exposed to music and theatre like never before, and started taking things seriously. My mum bought me a guitar and a chord book. In six months, I was a ‘poor man's expert’ on my own and then started taking guitar tuitions. I completed my LLB and started attending court sessions with my grand dad, but my heart was into music. I had a wonderful stint in radio. I finally quit two years back and took on music full-time after setting up my own studio. My wife Sukriti encouraged my tremendously and never let doubts wash out my mind. Life has been more eventful since then.
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What’s keeping you busy these days?
I’m working on the music of Monsoon Shootout, Bombay Mills and a Riteish Deshmukh-starrer. I’m also composing two singles, one sung by Ayushmann and another by Mika. I love spending my mornings and evenings with my family and it’s great to see my two-year-old son Eklavya grow up.
Listen to Welcome 2 Karachi songs on Gaana.com
What are your plans for the future?
I’d love to join a university and learn music. I have no formal music training, and whatever I know is through listening and experimenting with instruments and software.