‘Ochin Majhi’ was a tribute to my late father: Shantanu Moitra

Shantanu Moitra – a name that is synonymous with melody. A composer, musician and pianist, known best for his works in films such as "Parineeta", "Lage Raho Munna Bhai", "3 Idiots" and more, his latest work can be heard in the recently released "Mujib: The Making of a Nation".

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Star, he shares his approach to making Bangla content and his experience with the film under the direction of filmmaking maestro Shyam Benegal.

How did you like the film and what was the brief given to you in terms of directing the music?

I'm beyond judgment. I've already seen it around 50 times, as I did the score. I'm a blind follower of Shyam Benegal films. I love the way he portrays larger-than-life characters in a simple way. When he first approached me on Mujib, he told me, "Shantanu, there is a danger of being overwhelmed by this character. The way to deal with it is to think of this person as somebody who was a father, a grandfather, a family man. He having his friends at his home. He loved the simple things in life – the rivers, the birds, the farmers, he loved the people and the people loved him".

What was your approach to the background score?

The same. The score was mainly to follow the screenplay and the character. The camera never tells the whole story, it tells you what it is right in front. But the intention of the filmmaker can be portrayed through the score. That's what I tried to do. I also tried to focus on the simplicity of the man. In all the complexities, he loved his people and was their representative – those were the fundamental presets to my approach with the score.

The two released songs of the Mujib: The Making of a Nation – "Ochin Majhi" and "Ki ki jinish enechho dulal" have different moods and flavours. What was your strategy with each of the Bangla lyrics?

They are absolutely of two different moods. Ochin Majhi, penned by Zahid Akbar, is an original composition of mine. My father was actually from Rangpur. After partition, he had to leave for India. But all his life, he told me stories about this magical land he left and he created an imagery in my head. He always wanted to come to Bangladesh and bring me along.  We had even booked tickets to come but then Covid happened, the world changed and I lost my father. But coincidently, it was right then that Shyam babu approached me with this film. So, when I was doing Ochin Majhi, it was actually a tribute to the imageries that my father had created in my mind about this magical land. And while I was doing that, it automatically worked with the character of Bangabandhu, because this is the land that he loved and fought for.

I want to talk about the final scene, which is possibly the most harrowing and gripping scene in the film. When working with this one, what was your approach?

That scene shakes you up. Shyam Benegal was perhaps most particular about this scene. Throughout the entire film, he wasn't too particular and didn't give me much direction. But for this one, he said, "Shantanu, don't make this a song and dance". See, in cinema, there is a term called "relative silence", where there is no dialogue or music but there are sounds of the environment and the setting the characters are in. He said he wanted me to create the relative silence but "I want to hear a song".  That was the most challenging part for me. He had shot the sequence first and wanted me to compose it in such a way, that the words would fall on the shots of the bodies, and when the camera comes to Bangabandhu, that is when the words match. So, I had to work backward. I was told to create a melody so powerful that it does not require any music. If you see the sequence, in two-thirds of it, Shreya Ghoshal sings in silence, with no music – and that is what hits you! It's a dramatic sequence, you are seeing someone that you love, his blood splattered. Any music would have killed it. I did fight with him, I said it would be difficult, but he had the clarity. That is why Shyam Benegal is Shyam Benegal.

From watching this film, what are your thoughts on the birth of Bangladesh and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman?

My belief is that a person can be killed, but an ideology cannot. And I think today, everybody, every age group, they talk fondly of Mujib. There was a time when people tried to kill this love for him among the people. But time is the ultimate victor.