RAJSHRI BREAKS
INTO THE MUSIC MARKET

What prompted Rajshri to jump into the music market at a time when the scene was already choc-a-bloc with music companies?
There’s always place for a good product. Sure, the competition is fierce, but it is essential for the growth of our company. We have a healthy respect for our rivals and are confident that we’ll still be able to make a niche for ourselves with clean, wholesome entertainment, music which will promote our traditional values and rich cultural heritage.

You’re very young to be heading a company. How did your elders entrust you with such a major responsibility?
Since I was a child I have aspired to enter the music world. I have an ear for music like the rest of the family. I have been trained in classical music since the age of five. I can play almost any musical instrument. And where production and marketing goes, I have been attending office diligently for the past six years. I was at the office more than in college. I was trained on the job.

Several just-launched music companies like Bokadia Music and Big B have run into hot water and have been forced to down shutters. How do you propose to safeguard yourself from the perils of inept management and incorrect marketing?
We decided to launch our music label in July ’96 and have spent the last one-and-a-half years in planning and meeting the right people — composers, musicians, singers, technicians, recordists, lyricists, artistes, directors and anyone related in the production of a music album. We have shortlisted the best. Our endeavour is to provide a really good product. We are very choosy about whom to work with. We have very high standards of quality. We want our products to be aesthetic and yet commercially viable.

Your job description makes you seem like an A&R manager?
Everybody at Rajshri is an A&R manager. From my publicity manager to my peon, everybody is on the lookout for talent.

What kind of repertoire is Rajshri aiming to build?
As of now, we are concentrating on the non-film music segment. Later we will expand into international music. We will promote Indian singers in the global market.

What about film music which is the highlight of your parent company?
We haven’t discussed film music yet.

You could well have launched your music label with a big bang with the music of Rajshri’s next production Hum Hain Saath Saath, instead of an album with a singer no one has heard of yet?
With the advent of satellite television, non-film music has got a tremendous boost. It will soon catch up with film music. If our reading is correct, the film music market has reached a saturation point.

Film music sales are directly dependent on the box-office results which is completely unpredictable. In comparison, the risk factor is lower in the case of non-film albums. Investment is also lower and you are in control of the product.

Looks as if a lot of premediated efforts have gone into the making of Yeh Hai Prem?
Your first product has to be strong, so we have put the best of efforts and talent in our debut album. The bulk of music albums today rely heavily on one hit song. The rest of the numbers are never even heard. In the case of our album, we have chosen 10 songs which are interwoven with a common thread of thought. Ours is a concept-based album, not a mere compilation of assorted songs. Yeh Hai Prem is the saga of love, starting with gossamer fantasy and culminating in intangible philosophy.

Is Yeh Hai Prem a narrative album?
It is. It has a definite thematic approach. Even our music video narrates a love story with an emotional touch. A simple story with a lot of freshness and youth appeal. It has something for everyone. We haven’t gone in for any technical wizardry, we are concentrating on melody and the traditional touch that people expect from Rajshri. It’s an album for the family audiences. My family members love it, hope everybody likes it too.

When is Yeh Hai Prem to be released?
In the first week of April. The music video will hit the tele-channels simultaneously.

You should have released it on Valentine’s Day.
That would have been appropriate, but there was no point in hurrying it along. A good product always sells, there’s no need for any gimmicks.

What’s next?
I am totally involved with Yeh Hai Prem right now. We will climb the ladder step-by-step, slowly, steadily and determinedly. Ideally, we would like to give breaks to new talent and release one album every month.

 THE MAKING YEH HAI PREM

Rajshri’s first music video is very much like their films — love-at-first sight, family gatherings, gifts, a chocolate-box hero, a mint-fresh heroine, and most importantly, soulful melody.

Abbas, the South sensation, croons dreamily about his lady-love. He jumps into an open jeep, drives past lush green meadows to his sister’s for the rakhi festival. There’s his neice, his jijajee (brother-in-law) and a pretty young padosan (Preety Jhangiani) dribbles him with a hose-pipe. Fleeting glances, stolen smiles and finally a gift is exchanged.

Chui mui si tum lagti ho, phoolon jaisi hansti ho goes the refrain. You can hear it again and again. It has that kind of appeal. Singer-composer Milind Ingle gets full marks for his tenor and tune.

“It’s a dream-debut,” admits Milind Ingle. “I have been waiting for 10 long years for this break. Rajshri was looking out for a singer-composer. They felt that songs turn out to be more interesting if the singer is also a composer. I met Rajat, we clicked instantly. I must’ve submitted 50 scores of which 10 were chosen eventually.This is a concept albumwith traditional Indian lyrics and score combined with modern percussion,” elaborates Ingle. He fits perfectly into the Rajshri setup. He too has a khandaani musical background. His forefathers were the court singers in Aundh.

Shyam Anuragi, lyricist of Deewane fame was given the tunes and asked to compose a lyrical narrative of love. “The first song is about the fantasies of a young lover, the next about his meeting with the girl of his dreams, their budding romance, the problems the lovers face and concludes with a song philosophising love as the greatest driving force,” relates Anuragi. “No vulgarity, no poppish lyrics — all the songs are lyrically lilting and meaningful in a situational context.”

Kunal Kohli, the hot-shot director of Chalo Cinema, was simply elated to be chosen by Rajshri to direct the video. “After all, I am the first outside director to be hired in the last 10 years by Rajshri. It was a great honour, an exhilarating experience to be associated with Rajshri. I was given a free hand. ‘Don’t worry about the budget, give us a good product’, — I was told. This video is different from the rest. Neither does it have a dozen dancers nor any mind-blowing SFX. It’s a simple visual treat with a story-line. Emotion, innocence, romance and a glossy look,” he exudes.

Preety Jhangiani was selected from a bevy of beauties for her charming youthfulness. A 12th standard student appearing for her HSC exams currently, she confesses that she is seriously thinking of becoming an actress after this major break in Yeh Hai Prem. “It made my day when I was told that I would be the heroine of the video. A Rajshri heroine!” she giggles happily.

“Abbas has that clean, unspoilt look that I was looking for. I decided on him from day one,” reveals Rajat, “The music video has very identifiable situations. You’ll feel it could be me. It could happen to me.” Hey Rajat babu, does it make you feel that way too? “Oh, yes, I keep wishing it will happen...,” he admits shyly.

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THE MAKING YEH HAI PREM