Meet the man behind the background score of Padmaavat

Sanchit Balhara throws more light on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's working style and understanding of music
Sanchit Balhara
Sanchit Balhara

The climax scene of Padmaavat where Rani Padmavati and hordes of other women perform jauhar might not have gone down too well with new-age feminists. But for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s fans, the sequence was one of the highlights of the film for its cinematography, editing and background score. While Bhansali is a master storyteller and creates magic on screen with his visuals, his newest discovery, music composer, Sanchit Balhara, has elevated the scene with his dramatic music and sounds.

“Composing the background score for Padmaavat was a daunting task because Sanjay Sir hadn’t even started shooting when he briefed me. I had composed the score for the climax shot much earlier and the visual sequence was edited to my music. That’s a huge achievement for me,” enthuses the composer. Earlier, Sanchit had collaborated with Bhansali for Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela. But it was the background music for Bajirao Mastani that bagged him an IIFA and other top awards. “This film was my first ever project as an independent composer. I was quite nervous about how this would work out because Sanjay Sir is always precise. He uses less words and conveys a lot of information. So I had to be certain about what I was doing,” reminisces Sanchit. 

Even with Padmaavat, the composer says how Bhansali explained the film to him. Sanchit wasn’t told that the film was about the famous Rani Padmavati and the Delhi Sultanate’s Allauddin Khilji. Bhansali told him this film was about a Rajasthani queen and her king, and about a conqueror who has travelled from Turkey to come to Delhi and conquer India. “He didn’t want me to be influenced by history and its accounts. Instead, he wanted me to understand the characters and where they came from. While I was working on it, he called me again and explained the ‘jauhar’ scene and I had to compose the score without knowing the story and without any visual context,” explains Sanchit. His task was to compose such a score that would strike a balance between the characters and history, which the composer seems to have achieved. When asked how it is to work with Bhansali who is known for being a perfectionist and always pushing the envelope, Sanchit offers, “He is musically gifted and understands the finer details of compositions. He always introduces the character first because that is what matters to him.”

ayeshatabassum@newindianexpress.com
@aishatax

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