Tanishk Bagchi. Photo: Deepesh Jaipuriar, Sanket Pawar
Over the last two years, Tanishk Bagchi has been on the lookout for someone who truly understands what he’s all about. That means not just asking him for recreations of yesteryear hits. “You need somebody to understand your musical capabilities. Everybody thought that I can only recreate songs,” he says over a call.
Granted, that’s what Bagchi gained fame for (“Dilbar,” “The Humma Song,” “Aankh Maarey”) ever since he started in Bollywood around a decade ago, but there are his own hits as well, far bigger in streaming numbers, from “Bolna” to “Raataan Lambiyan” and “Makhna,” plus pop songs like “Vaaste” sung by Nikhil D’Souza and Dhvani Bhanushali outside of the film space.
Just when Bagchi was “afraid I was losing my original game,” he says he found a willing partner in the production house Maddock Films, who signed him aboard the action drama Sky Force. He’s worked with founder Dinesh Vijan before on films like Luka Chuppi, but this was different. “While meeting and talking about projects, he [Vijan] told me, ‘Tanishk, you know, recreation is good, but I think you should concentrate on taking an entire film, because that will be a step ahead for you.’ That’s when he made me do a song, and I didn’t know it was for Sky Force at the time, and then he told me about it. And then we did the last song, ‘Maaye.’”
With the soundtrack to the patriotic film centered around the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965, Bagchi delivered hits like “Tu Hain Toh Main Hoon” with Arijit Singh and Afsana Khan and lyrics by Irshad Kamil, “Kya Meri Yaad Aati Hai” with Vishal Mishra and Kamil, “Rang” with Punjabi artist Satinder Sartaj (an idea he credits to Vijan) and Zahrah S. Khan (with lyrics by Shloke Lal) and “Maaye” with B Praak and lyricist Manoj Muntashir.
He has cherished memories with the likes of Arijit Singh, considering they made “Bolna” as Bagchi’s first project for Dharma Productions’ film Kapoor & Sons in 2016. “For the romantic song [‘Tu Hain Toh Main Hoon’], obviously Arijit is the best. I have no other names to take,” the composer says.
Even with all these new songs, the Lata Mangeshkar-sung iconic patriotic song “Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon” was adapted by Bagchi for Sky Force. With piano and string arrangements over the original and a dialogue by lead actor Akshay Kumar, Bagchi had to tread carefully because he was placing a beloved, foundational voice and song into a Bollywood film.
He says about the challenge, “We try to make it like fit in that situation, our focus is mostly to make the song a part of the [soundtrack], not to destroy it or make it different.” Other times, with his recreated material, Bagchi offers the example of “Tip Tip” from 2021 movie Sooryavanshi, which was adapting “Tip Tip Barsa Paani” from 1994 movie Mohra. It invited criticism from the original composer Viju Shah that it didn’t feel too different from his version, but Bagchi says it’s what the situation in the film demanded. “My main focus is how it’s going to be shot and what kind of elements are there. And at the same time, I have to make it a point that a song works in the club,” he adds.
While there are at least three or four more film soundtrack projects coming up for Bagchi, he’s looking forward to follow up his 2024 single “Sadde Te” with a collaboration featuring Ivorian artist KikiMoteleba. “He did ‘Tigini,’ and we’ve collaborated on a Bengali-French song which we’re releasing first in Europe,” Bagchi explains. With a video shot in Madurai, it’s also part of a film, but he can’t offer more details at the moment. The move to do more singles where his name (and more importantly, face) comes up in videos and cover art is driven by Bagchi’s desire to be a performer rather than just a composer behind the scenes. “I realized that if I don’t have that face value, people will forget you,” he says.
It also gives him a balance to take on music projects outside of film soundtracks, inspired by pop artists like Sai Abhyankkar. “I feel he’s got a very international sound, it’s completely new,” Bagchi says. At the same time, he’s on the lookout for new voices to work with, pointing to little-known singers like Ashok Maskeen. “He works in a factory but he has a Nusrat saab type voice. My main focus has always been finding something which is authentic in origin, so that’s what I look for in new voices,” the composer adds.
Bagchi is also taking another turn, becoming an actor and composer for an upcoming Bengali musical directed by a filmmaker friend Dibya Chatterjee. “He said, ‘Let’s do a musical film where you can do your music stuff and also take a story.’ So that’s what I’m working on. It’s something new for me. It’s a very challenging year for me. Let’s see what happens,” he adds.