Singer-composer Nilotpal Bora is known for his soulful compositions blended with the modern organic soundscape. He came into the spotlight with his song Dhaaga from the TVF web series Aspirants, which also earned him IWM Buzz Awards in the Best Original Soundtrack category and a nomination for Filmfare OTT Awards this year.
Recently, the singer collaborated with Netflix for the film Jaadugar starring Jitendra Kumar, for the song Shaabaash, which was also the official anthem for the Indian athletes at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games. “I consider myself very lucky as a musician. I achieved things that I never ran after or even dreamt of. But I always focused only on my music and my life is going ahead in this way,” says Nilotpal who, apart from Aspirants, has also composed music for TVF’s Tripling S2, Yeh Meri Family, Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt Ltd, and many more web-series.
On composing music for OTT shows, he points out that in the last three years, people have started liking and listening to OTT music. “Also because it’s now easily available on many online platforms. But music is less promoted when it comes to OTT. I think it will get better with time. A lot of good artistes have created so many beautiful songs and soundtracks so it is definitely very important to reach a massive audience,” shares the singer.
Living his childhood dream of becoming a musician, Nilotpal moved to Mumbai from Assam a few years ago. The singer says it wasn’t easy for him to attract the eyeballs of this plenteous industry. However, his persistence and talent brought him his due, and he feels he still has a long way to go. He tells us that as an independent musician, he tries to narrate his personal stories through his songs. “Since my childhood, I was pretty sure that I wanted to be a musician. And somehow that dream came true and now I am doing what I always wanted to. So this is the biggest happiness of my life. And here in Mumbai, I got to work on projects of my musical taste and genre,” says the singer.
When asked if the process of composing music for web series and movies differs Nilotpal responds in the negative. “Thinking process is the same, because be it films or OTT, content is the key. Sometimes when the situation of the scene is beautiful, it is easier to create a good composition. I feel when it comes to a film’s music production, one needs to work a little more. But there’s no such difference in films and OTT in the composing and lyrics part,” observes the musician.
As an independent musician for about half a decade, Nilotpal says reflecting on his personal life through music comes naturally and effortlessly to him. He also claims that independent music has brought an evolution to the Indian music scene. “In the last five years, independent music has grown enormously. In the 90s, we could witness a great phase of independent music but after that, it almost vanished as it was overshadowed by Bollywood music in the last two decades. Nowadays, majority of the people are supporting and follow indie artists wholeheartedly and content, and soul-wise, independent songs are honest and pure. I believe in the next few years, Indian music is going to reach a great height,” says the singer and opines that streaming platforms have played as an opportunity for independent musicians.
“From the time online platforms have become big in India; artistes can create music in their home setup and put it out in the public, share their stories through their music. What could be better than this? We are such a lucky generation, things are much feasible and the great thing is, people of our country really have started loving independent music.”
But does it have any drawbacks? we ask. “Not as such. It is true that if an indie song is being released by a popular music label, an artiste gets the benefit of their huge reach of followers and subscribers. But if one’s music is honest and true, it will reach people’s hearts although it might take a little longer because the majority of the people appreciate good music,” Nilotpal says in conclusion.
priyanka.chandani@newindianexpress.com
@MinksChandani