Scam 2003 music composer on matching Telgi's complexity with apt music: Interview

Indian music composer Ishaan Chhabra who recently worked with Hansal Mehta in the SonyLIV show Scam 2003, spoke about his experience of lending rhythm to the central character’s cunningness, mirroring Telgi’s street-smart attitude and complexities of his story with apt music. Blending electronic elements with guitars along with a subtle nod to Belgaum's musical essence, Ishaan breaks down what it took to compose music for a show of the calibre of Scam 2003. Excerpts: 

WION: We heard some great background music during the length of Scam 2003. What was the brief you had for composing music for a show like Scam 2003?

Ishaan: The creative process for the music of Scam 2003 started with a meeting with Mr. Hansal Mehta, the creative director of the show. Hansal sir’s basic brief was to keep the score upbeat, engaging, and evolving throughout. He explained how Telgi’s character is street-smart, mischievous, and a bit “filmy” - and he wanted the score to reflect that. Based on these pointers, I composed 4-5 theme ideas, which he thankfully liked and asked me to use them as building blocks for the score. Then I started scoring to picture based on these core ideas.

WION: You’ve worked with Hansal Mehta before Scam 2003. What’s something you really like about him? 

Ishaan: Hansal sir really lets you be creative and lets you explore to zone in on the right sound for a project - and at the same time can be quite specific with ideas. He’s musically inclined, which really helps in understanding the brief.

Watch our exclusive interview with Hansal Mehta here:

WION: Ishaan, you’re not new to international music and have collaborated with artists outside India too. How did you break into the global music scene? Writing With Fire, for example, was nominated for Oscars and you got to collaborate on that project. Did you happen to attend the Academy Awards?

Ishaan: Studying at Berklee helped me to meet people working in the international music industry and establish a network in the US. Being a finalist in the Rolex Arts Initiative also opened a lot of doors.

I didn’t attend the Academy Awards but it was incredibly gratifying to have scored for an Oscar-nominated film, Writing With Fire. 

WION: You have also been a frequent collaborator with AR Rahman, How is he as a person? Does it ever get intimidating while working with him?

Ishaan: Working with A.R. sir was truly a dream come true. You learn so much just by watching him work. He’s also really generous with sharing his knowledge and expects you to do your absolute best. Some of my favourite projects with him are Pele, Tamasha, Highway, 24, Viceroy’s House, The Hundred Foot Journey and The Messenger of God.

WION: What’s one project that is dear to you the most?

Honestly, every project so far has been special for different reasons - but if I had to pick one, that would be the Malayalam film Mahaveeryar. It’s a time-travel satire-meets-courtroom drama. The director, Mr. Abrid Shine, let me go as crazy as possible with the soundtrack and I got to incorporate all kinds of different musical styles into the soundtrack - from Rajasthani folk to reggae to full-blown cinematic-orchestral.

WION: What next?

Ishaan: I just finished scoring a horror series for Amazon Prime which should be released around year-end. I also recently started working on a Hindi film and a series that should be released mid-next year.

WION: Who are some directors that inspire you or would want to work with?

Ishaan: In a perfect world, it would be an insane dream come true to work with Denis Villeneuve, Wes Anderson, The Coen Brothers, and Alfonso Cuaròn. On the India front, I would love to work with Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Shimit Amin, and Dibaker Banerjee. Their work has been hugely inspiring.

Ishaan Chhabra debuted in the feature space as a composer with 2014 film, Children of War. The film released to critical success. He then composed for 2016 film, Budhia Singh: Born to Run, which went on to receive the National Award for Best Children's Film. In 2017, he scored Hansal Mehta's biographical crime thriller Omertà. He worked on HBO's 2018 documentary Momentum Generation which earned a Sports Emmy Award nomination for Best Music Direction. In 2021, he co-composed for the Academy Award-nominated documentary Writing With Fire directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh. As for Hindi films, he scored Imtiaz Ali's romantic drama Love Aaj Kal (2020) and Aanand L. Rai's Raksha Bandhan (2022). 

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