Ravi Basrur Masterclass: On hit songs and BGM for ‘mass’ films

Music composer Ravi Basrur, who is gearing up for the release of his directorial ‘Veera Chandrahasa’, talks to The Hindu about his journey in the film industry.
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The Hindu

Ravi Basrur loves experimenting. After charting his own path as a music composer with distinctive music in blockbusters such as KGF (Chapters 1 and 2 starring Yash) and Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire (featuring Prabhas),he is set for his sixth directorial Veera Chandrahasa.

The historical film has the traditional art form Yakshagana as the main element throughout its narrative. The ambitious project attempts to blend folklore and drama, and is set to release on April 18, 2025. The music composer opens up on Veera Chandrahasa, his style of music composing, handling criticism and more.

Excerpts:

What is the origin of ‘Veera Chandrahasa’?

Yakshagana is a thriving art form in the Karavali region. With this film, I wanted to address some problems suffered by the artists. Every year, they work for 6 months and are unemployed for the next 6 months. They can’t perform during the rainy season. If this movie does well, the Yakshagana artists will have an opportunity to be in films during the off-season. I see Veera Chandrahasa as a tool to discuss these issues with the government. Also, the artists don’t have modern sound kits. Their health is affected because of the high-pitched shouting involved in their performances. They deserve lapel microphones instead of hanging mikes.

How have you experimented musically in ‘Veera Chandrahasa’?

Usually, I produce modern sounds using strings or violins. But for this movie, I used only two instruments: Madal and Chanda. We wanted the audience to feel the vibration through the screen through the sound quality of the two instruments. For the entire movie, we have used 1600-1700 recording tracks of Chanda and Madal to create the atmosphere of the Yakshagana experience on screen.

Shivarajkumar in ‘Veera Chandrahasa’.
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Special Arrangement

Shivarajkumar plays a prominent role in the movie. What made you think he is apt for the film?

This film is an attempt to take the popularity of Yakshagana beyond Karnataka, and you need a popular face to achieve that. We approached Shivanna (Shivarajkumar) after completing the movie’s first schedule and showed him the visuals. He was thrilled to see our work. We gave him a solid character, and it’s not a cameo for the sake of it. Even with his cancer treatment, he made time for our film. He showed great energy throughout the shoot and followed all the rituals and customs related to Yakshagana.

What was the reason behind setting up a studio in your hometown Basrur, Kundapura?

Initially, people thought I had lost it when I poured so much money to set up a studio there. They had predicted that I would settle down in Mumbai or Bengaluru, thinking only big cities generate revenue. I decided to come back with the best products and set up a studio in my hometown. It’s been five years since, and the studio has generated Rs 21 crore so far. Around 30 people are working there. I am happy with the growth.

In ‘Salaar’, a group of women keeps chanting as Prabhas kills the antagonist. How did you create music just by the chants?

Music can stimulate people emotionally, and doesn’t need lyrics to enhance it always. For instance, had we put lyrics to the ‘Tandani Naane’ tune from KGF, it would have remained limited to a certain language. As we hum the tune, we tend to connect to it. Even in Salaar, the ‘Yaa Yaa Yaa’ chants express the pain of the women from that tribe. You don’t need lyrics for that. Even in KGF: Chapter 2, Reena (played by Shrinidhi Shetty) tells Rocky (Yash) she is pregnant. She says it’s his mother being born again as their daughter. The tune during the scene has become so viral that people have made it their caller tunes. Similarly, the melody you hear when Rocky sits near his mother’s memorial is very popular. We generated it by using a flute.

In ‘KGF: Chapter 2’, there is a long portion, from Ramika Sen seeing Rocky’s kingdom to the point where one of the gold biscuits gets seized by the police. The entire stretch is so gripping, thanks to your score…

While composing the background score, we consider characters and sequences. I look at a series of scenes as one sequence. In the film, I have to keep the audience hooked from the scene where Ramika Sen orders arrests and raids till the police manage to get a gold biscuit. I have to maintain that momentum till the end of the sequence. One sequence can have five to 10 scenes, but the entire sequence must have the same tempo. With each score, the idea is to generate a mood.

Ravi Basrur in his studio.
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‘Marco’ was a departure from hero-centric films like ‘KGF’ and ‘Salaar‘. More than the hero, the violence took centre stage in that movie. How different was your music for that film?

For Marco, I decided not to use my regular instruments. Generally, I use ensemble brass and strings. I would adopt the epic orchestral style. I didn’t do that for this movie. We used out-and-out modern instruments for Marco.

You often get criticised for loud scores. How do you defend it?

I am not on any social media, so there’s no question of getting affected by criticism. I aim to take my music to the global stage. I want the audience to get the feel of watching a Hollywood film while watching our movies. That said, some English films do have ear-splitting background scores. After the KGF films, the music in our movies has gone one step ahead. I use hybrid sounds to attract the younger generation. Take any youngster’s Spotify playlist, and they will mostly have English songs. So we must not fall behind in matching their quality. After we released the video ‘Sound of Salaar’, those who worked with me for the film called me from the U.S. They were thrilled that they collaborated with me. 

As your experiences evolve in the field, how do you ensure it doesn’t get repetitive?

I don’t feel I have gotten repetitive yet. I try to create unique music and hope to work in different types of films. In KGF: Chapter 1 and KGF: Chapter 2, we had to have a similar kind of music. When we did Salaar, people still had KGF in mind. They felt the music was different from KGF only after seeing the ‘Sound of Salaar’ video that showed the making of the film’s music. Till then, they couldn’t understand the difference in music in the two movies. Marco was a different attempt. People accepted it. That said, I had to be ready for rejection as well. If I keep expectations in check and do not respond to everything said out there. It helps my music. Also, people who work in the music department are very sensitive. That’s the reason I dropped out of social media.