The only thing I know to do is make music, says Mithoon

For Mithoon, his latest track, Lo Safar from Baaghi 2, is a reflection of his own sojourn as a musician. The composer and lyricist explains, “Director Ahmed Khan wanted a song about starting a new journey. There comes a time when the road we’re walking on does not work for us. We need to start afresh. In the movie, it was Tiger Shroff’s character’s love that took him on a journey.” However, for him, his new journey began after a three-year break, post his music in Aggar (2007) receiving criticism. He came back with Lamhaa (2010), Tum Hi Ho (Aashiqui 2, 2013), Phir Bhi Tumko Chahunga (Half Girlfriend, 2017) and many more. “Sometimes, we take life for granted and it makes us stagnant. But when you start afresh, you value the change. Maybe that’s why the song came out well,” he says about the track rendered by Jubin Nautiyal.

After the break

Even though the hiatus broke his flow as a musician, Mithoon doesn’t regret the decision. “All the music after that has stemmed from the renewal,” he says. While he doesn’t regret the decision, in retrospect, he thinks it was a foolish thing to do. “At 22 or 23, you don’t do things that are influenced by the world and that’s good for the soul. Now, I’ve established everything on certain values — discipline being the most important one,” says Pt Ramprasad Sharma’s grandson and Pyarelal’s (of Laxmikant Pyarelal) nephew.

Scoring for a silent film

Another project that Mithoon is gung ho about is his composition in a silent film, Mercury. “You don’t have dialogues to lean on. All the communication has to come from the music. I’ve never done something like this before, so it was exciting,” he says of The Mercury Song. However, it didn’t make him nervous. The composer says, “The only thing I know to do is make music, and nothing else. So, I felt adventurous.”

Solo versus multi-composer projects

Apart from being a solo or lead composer for The Train (2007), Shivaay (2016), Aksar 2 (2017), etc, Mithoon has been a guest composer on Ek Villain (2014), Ki & Ka (2016), and Baaghi 2, among others. Mithoon tells us that he prefers giving music for the entire album. “But, I’ve to be given the right amount of time. I can’t compose in a hurry. For me, the most important thing is the director’s vision because I don’t have a song bank. I don’t connect with the thought of people looking for a song like shopping for fruits,” he emphasises. Though, he says, “If people come to me for the right creative reason for doing a single, I don’t mind it.”

Upcoming work

Mithoon is currently working on a Mohit Suri’s yet-untitled film. He also has his first English film this year. “Right now, I’m contract-bound so I cannot talk about it,” says the composer who likes Arko Pravo Mukherjee and Amit Trivedi among his contemporaries. “I like the way Amit’s mind functions — he makes music according to what he thinks instead of following trends,” Mithoon signs off.