Meet the female composers of Bollywood

Whether it’s the groovy and thumping beats of Hard Hard or the intense Har Har Gange sung by Arijit Singh, Batti Gul Meter Chalu’s music is grabbing attention. One half of the composer duo of these tracks is Parampara Thakur, who has formed the first-ever male-female combination with Sachet Tandon. Another composer whose music for an upcoming film released recently is Sneha Khanwalkar. She has been hailed as one of the few (and for a long time also the only) female composers in Bollywood. 

Interestingly, when she was nominated for the best music director award for Gangs of Wasseypur 1 & 2 (2012), she was only the second female nominee in the category 28 years after Usha Khanna. 

THE RISE OF FEMALE COMPOSERS

The tide seems to be changing of late and there are more women who are taking Bollywood as well as the web space by storm with their compositions. Other than Sneha and Parampara, Alokananda Dasgupta did the complete score (including the songs) for Sacred Games, which premiered in July, while Rachita Arora composed Dance Capital and Labbon Se Chhukar in the series. This was after both of them had given music for films. 

Rachita had her break with Newton (2017) and this year scored for Anurag Kashyap’s Mukkabaaz. Alokananda has to her credit films like BA Pass (2013), Trapped (2016) and also web series Breathe this year. Interestingly, Anurag and Vikramaditya Motwane have consistently signed these ladies up for their projects. Then there’s also indie artiste Jasleen Royal whose song found a place in Veere Di Wedding this year. She has also had three tracks as a composer in Baar Baar Dekho (2016) and the complete soundtrack of Hichki (2018).

A CONSCIOUS CAREER CHOICE

A career as a music director didn’t happen to these women by chance but by choice. Like the classically-trained vocalist from Gwalior Gharana, Sneha, has said in an earlier interview that she became a composer to avoid becoming a singer. Rachita, also trained in Hindustani singing, wanted to pursue the same profession. “Even when I was young, I used to create songs and make my parents listen to them. I came to Mumbai from Delhi to learn music production,” she says. As for Parampara, participating in The Voice India season 1 was a way to make inroads into Bollywood as a music creator. “Unfortunately, there are no reality shows for composers so I had to choose a singing series. But the idea was to get into composing,” she points out.

AVENUES ARE OPENING UP

Alokananda attributes the rise in the number of women composers to the fact that there are more opportunities in the industry and females are generally overcoming inhibitions in every sphere of work. “Girls are getting more exposure these days. I think the experimentation in music is also creating more possibilities for everyone to join,” she says. In Rachita’s opinion, too, it’s because women in the society are gradually being given their due no matter what field they are in.

GENDER NO BAR

It’s one’s work that does the talking irrespective of their gender according to these composers. Parampara says, “Female music creators are getting a good response from producers. Your work needs to do the talking and if your music fits into the scheme of things, you will be signed for the project.” 

Rachita concurs that even though she is still a newbie in the industry, she has only met filmmakers who appreciate talent, whether it was Anurag or Aanand L Rai. “I meet the production team and directors like a composer would and they treat me like one irrespective of my gender. Women and men have to slog it out alike,” she avers.

Alokananda adds that there have been a stray instance or two when people had trouble taking instructions from her because she was younger and also a woman. “But, it’s still never been an obstacle because I have got my work done without thinking about it,” she emphasises.

NOT JUST COMPOSING

These composers are not just creating tunes but doing a lot more. Rachita, for instance, did the background music for Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, which not many women are known to do. She tells us, “Women are making a foray into the technical side of music, too. I’ve seen someone mixing and mastering a track in a studio. They are learning electronic music production, too. This is really exciting and encouraging,” she states.

Parampara urges more women to try their hand at music direction as a profession because it’s extremely rewarding.