I didn’t have to do anything different. I just feel that sometimes, as a creative leader, you have to be everything you can. You have to be kind, you have to be firm sometimes, and sometimes you take all that comes your way, good or bad. So, for me, it was quite natural to be in front of the camera this time. We handled everything with a bit of humour, and Manoj was enjoying the process and giving constant feedback.

Also, as a director, having worked on Le Musk, my first directorial venture as an immersive filmmaker, I learnt a lot of things that I got to bring to the table because I was directing actors myself. So, when I was told, “Can we do this or that?” I understood what was needed.

Actually, even when doing interviews and music videos, you kind of get a sense of what the lens is looking at. You’re checking what lens they’re using, what the angle is, and where the light is. Because I’m also an amateur photographer, you understand how to behave when they’re rolling and what they’re looking at. The experience of working with other filmmakers on music videos, interviews and everything else made the process simple. The main thing is to see whether you are tolerable (laughs). Because sometimes you do certain things that are not so favourable to the eye. Sometimes you just have to do less to make it look more natural. Less is more.

I think, from childhood, from school annual functions where Ramayana was performed as a play, to watching musical theatre in Tamil Nadu, RS Manohar’s dramas on stage, TV series and movies, you question yourself: what else can I bring to the table? So, when I saw the vision of Nitesh Tiwari and Namit Malhotra, I was blown away by the ambition and the relentless work they’ve been putting in. It was pretty inspiring to see the whole team. Even seeing it in 3D was dazzling and quite breathtaking for me. I was very inspired to do more and keep working on it.

Hans developed a couple of themes, and I developed a couple of themes, and they all have their place in the movie. There is a lot of respect among all the teams, and this makes the collaboration more special. Then I had the task of doing the songs and working with Kumar Vishwas. It’s exciting because he has so much information and such ease with the vocabulary of that era. I keep telling him that every cell of his is filled with these words. It was a great honour to work with Kumar Vishwas as a lyricist because I’ve worked with many lyricists in India, and this was very different.

I think the most ambitious project I’m working on, other than scoring Ramayana, is the virtual band called Secret Mountain that we’re building. We’ve been working on it for almost three to four years now. The idea is to use all the technological developments, put our heart into it, and bring in the wisdom of these characters from the places they belong to, like Africa, India, China, Ireland, America and Latin America. There’s so much work to do, but I think we’re still waiting for the launch. We’re still working on the music videos, the teaser and the music. So, very soon, you’ll find out and see the launch of this amazing virtual band.

I think uncertainty is a part of life. Nothing is certain. Life is like the weather. Sometimes you feel there’ll be sunshine, but it rains. Sometimes people predict that it’s going to rain, but there’s sunshine. That actually humbles you and makes you feel less stressed, because there are certain things within your control and certain things beyond it. I think if you can handle the things within your control, the things beyond your control will also help you grow and achieve.

I think sometimes, when I’m travelling on a flight, I get an idea, and then I take my phone, use the voice recorder and record it. Sometimes, I do the same in the car. One example was during the song Bharat Humko, when I got inspired and came up with the brass motifs for the antara while I was in my car. The other instance is probably on a flight, when I sometimes wake up, set up my keyboards and compose something.

I think when there is a block, going out of the space, driving or travelling helps. Sometimes I fast. Fasting kind of clears your mind and lets you see the truth behind every screen—the mind screen.

I think what’s important is that a machine, a synthesiser, a computer or anything else should work towards your vision and inspire it, not the other way around. I think we are all connected through the soul, and there is a commonality between us. There is a collective consciousness that connects us all. It’s unexplainable, but it’s the truth. And that actually works well when you can feel something. It’s like cooking, right? When you cook something you like and serve it, people really like it. It’s not as though they like it and you don’t. It doesn’t work that way. In the same way, technology is very much like that, too. You take something, tame it to suit your needs and use what is needed.

I think we can’t question the graph of life. You can’t go back and change things that were meant to be a certain way. So, I would say I’ll accept whatever has happened in my life, the good and the bad, rather than thinking, “Oh, I didn’t have this, I didn’t have that.” Because every negative thing led to something positive. Every void led to something fulfilling later. My main thing is to be grateful, generous, kind, and useful, and to share what I have with the world.

I think fame is both true and false. It’s true because you feel all the love. You feel a sense of power, empowerment and responsibility. But everything can also go in a second, and we’ve seen that happen to many people. So, you can’t take it too seriously or let it go to your head. You have to be detached from it to live a life.

There are some obvious things, like not having privacy in public places. That’s both a good and a bad thing, because a lot of people crave that kind of attention but don’t get it. In my case, it’s been there for decades, so I am grateful. We always have to find a way around the negatives and see the best in every situation.

Yeah, I think spirituality makes you go deeper into the universal theory of life. Not just my life, but also how humanity has evolved. In a way, I think the whole purpose of life is to understand who you are, what you’re made of and where you’re heading. These answers are very personal, and for each person, they’re different. My answer and my personal experience with the sublime are very different from what other people experience. They might even have better experiences, and I respect all those experiences. As long as we use these extraordinary influences to become the best versions of ourselves, nothing

else matters.

In a very strange way, fame wasn’t new to me, as I had been performing on TV from the age of 13. Also, being an introvert, I found it really fun to be in the studio, doing things, learning and experimenting with music. So, maybe I would tell him that when you’re passionate about your work and your art, nothing feels like a burden or a source of stress because you love what you’re doing.

Actually, I don’t have any of my awards or titles on social media because I think it makes you stagnant. The idea of being born again and again and again creatively is fascinating and empowering. I try to free myself from the burden of adulation or flattery. Of course, it’s a great blessing and extraordinary to receive this kind of adulation, but it can also become a burden when you start owning it, as it can hold you back from future progress.