Vipin Patwa on Vande Mataram, Ganpati songs and the many stories behind his music

Musician Vipin Patwa is on cloud nine, as filmmaker Randeep Hooda took home the Best Debut Director award for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar recently. Adding to the special moment, Vipin has an achievement of his own to celebrate—the film’s song Vande Mataram was composed by him.

From Cellular Jail to Ganpati celebrations: Vipin Patwa on the music close to his heart

 “Randeep Hooda told me that he wanted a song where the character sings like a lullaby, the way a mother sings a lullaby for her children. The character is in a particular mental and emotional state where he wants to remember his motherland as he would remember his mother. That is why we decided not to use too many instruments. Instead, I used the sound of a real wall to create the rhythm. I tapped on the wall and created a rhythm around which I composed the lullaby. There were no musical instruments available in the Cellular Jail, the Kala Pani prison, so I wanted the music to reflect that reality.”

Sharing how he ended up singing the patriotic number, he says, “I was composing and singing at the same time, so it was more of a scratch vocal. But Randeep was so passionate about the character and his script that he decided not to replace my voice. He felt that the lyrics and emotions were coming through correctly in my voice, and he did not need anyone else. ”

Interestingly Randeep also happens to be a close friend of Vipin. “Randeep is a talented artiste, and he has proved himself time and again. This was his first time stepping into the role of a director, but I believe that if you are a good artiste, you have to give your best in every role, and that is exactly what he did. He was behaving and thinking like Vinayak Savarkar, and that level of commitment also meant that we had to do justice to the song. It was a wonderful experience working with him.”

The lyrics for the song are by Dr Sagar with whom Vipin had collaborated earlier as well. “When I was studying at Delhi University, he was my senior at JNU, although we never met at the time. Later, when I was working in Bombay, he was introduced to me through one of my close friends, and we began working together. He is well-read and has a deep understanding of characters and their emotions. He always takes the time to study the character, and that brings something special to the writing. It adds the sensibility and depth that are essential to bringing the character to life. We have composed many songs together.”

When asked if there was a particular moment during the making or recording of this song that he will always remember, and pat comes the reply. “I will always remember those few nights when I couldn’t sleep because, once this situation came to me, I felt that I had to do justice to the song. I remember standing behind a wall in the middle of the night, thinking, “What should I do? How should I compose this? There’s no instrument, nothing to play. So how do I create the music?”

I stood next to the wall and began listening carefully to its sound. I put my ear against it and thought of the saying, “Diwaron ke bhi kaan hote hain.” I listened to the silence, tapped on the wall, and suddenly started singing, “O Maa, O Maa, Amma, Tere Charno Mein Naman.” That was when I caught the vibe and began composing the song. In that moment, I felt that I had created something people would connect with and love.”

Vipin had previously composed another song titled Vande Mataram for Code Name: Tiranga. Talking about how he ensured that the two songs had their distinct identity, he says, “As a music composer, this is my responsibility. If Vande Mataram comes for the third time, I have to approach it and do justice to it because that is my work. For me, both songs are equally special. The way Randeep was thinking about this particular song was different because he was immersed in the character. At the same time, Vande Mataram from Code Name: Tiranga is also a special song. Ribhu Das Gupta is a sincere director, and I have worked with him on two or three projects, including The Girl on the Train and Code Name: Tiranga.”

His music, however, goes beyond cinema. He celebrated this year’s Ganesh Chaturthi with two of his own compositions. “We live in Maharashtra, which is the land of Ganpati celebrations. So, it is a fortunate feeling to have created two songs dedicated to Ganpati. One is Ganpati Jagvandan, and the other is Siddhi Vinayaka Deva. It is a beautiful feeling to be able to sing for my motherland, for my deities and for Lord Ganesha,” says the composer who is now working on Sudhir Mishra and Randeep Hooda’s next and a web series for Sony Pictures.

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