Mirzapur 3 songs are very apt for the situations that the series showcases: Anand Bhaskar

Anand Bhaskar has been working, over years, on some of the famous projects that have come out of the industry. From Mrizapur Season 1 & 2, to Showtime, Bombay Begums, Pariwar to movies like Mission Mangal, Baaghi 2, Doctor G, his work has spanned across the spectrum. As Mirzapur 3 keeps the viewers hooked on to its release date, we took some time from Anand Bhaskar to have an interaction about the music he has composed for the web-series. Here’s what he has to say:

What makes Mirzapur 3 unique as a project for you?

I am not sure if I have the answer to that because the music is too similar to what people have seen in the last 2 seasons, in fact this season has lesser variety than before. However, there is one song, you know it’s quite interesting in terms of how it was produced and the singer who sang is Ghanshyam Vaswani who is 68 years old. So, because of his age, his voice texture makes the song really unique. I feel that, that is one thing listeners can look forward to. Mirzapur 3 songs are very apt for the situations that the series showcases. They are very situation specific songs and I feel that some of the songs also have a humorous undertone to it which wasn’t the case in the songs that were written for the previous seasons. People will get a little laugh out of it when they hear the songs with the scenes.

Music for a series vs independent music, what is your take in terms of the treatment of any of these require?

Music for series vs independent music, well the only the difference is that when I am writing independent music, I am not governed by a brief. I can write whatever I want about whatever I am feeling at that point in time and whatever I am seeing around in my life and in the world. Whereas when I am writing music for a web series or a movie, it’s almost always governed by a brief. The director wants me to write the music based on situation, characters. The lyrics also must describe a certain sequence of events which is something that I don’t have to follow when I am writing independent music. The approach to writing songs in both scenarios is nearly the same, I focus very heavily on the melody first because it is the face of the song, it needs to be strong enough for people to listen to it. The songs need to have a high recall value and need to sound easy on the ears as well, whether it is independent music or for commercial projects. 

What is the plan for 2024 and what should the audience expect to come from your end?

In 2024, there’s ‘Showtime’ where 3 episodes are left which will come out in June. Mirzapur 3 will come out and I am also doing a film called train from Chhapraula where I am doing two songs. I am also doing a web series called Paan Parda Zarda. That aside, my band Anand Bhaskar releases its 3^rd album this year, that’s something our independent music fans are looking forward to. We are also looking forward to it because we have gone under a different musical direction from what we are known for, and we hope to make new fans. 

From live events perspective, what kind of sound you are looking to bring forward this year?

In terms of live music, like I said in my previous answer, the band is gone under different pop rock direction, so we are trying to make songs that are more accessible but still have the essence of alternative rock, that bring the energy but also have quality of being hummable with a higher recall value. It’s going energetic music but at the same time very hummable and very fun. We are also trying to add more elements from other genres but not at the risk of diluting our core sound.

What have been some of the memorable events during Mirzapur 3 music making process?

I think the memorable events in Mirzapur 3 music making process was the ability to work with some good singers like Vivek Hariharan, Vidya Gopal, Keka Ghoshal, Vijaya Shankar ma’am who is also my guru, I have learn a lot of classic singing and playback singing from her. Working with great vocalist like Ghanshyam Vaswani, who’s been a part of Jangjit Singh’s entourage for several years. It was good experience for me to work with these talented singers and every time you work with a talented singer as a composer there is a lot to learn from these collaborators and I think that’s the most memorable aspect of it.

Well, with so much anticipation, it will be worth a watch and a must listen!