Amit Trivedi to compose for 'Jugalbandi'

Sameer Sharma's next directorial "Jugalbandi" explores Hindustani classical music. The challenge for the director is to make the intricate complex and elitist world of ragas and gharanas accessible to the young, and he has roped in Amit Trivedi for it.

The raga-imbued music score of "Jugalbandi", the story of two musicians - the 'guru' and 'shagird', will be done by Trivedi, known for his compositions in films like "Dev D", "Ishaqzaade" and "English Vinglish".

He even did the Punjabi-flavoured score of Sharma's last film "Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana".

"Nowhere in 'Luv Shuv...' could you tell that the Punjabi music was by a Gujarati music composer. Amit Trivedi creates a sound that crosses borders, and he's very knowledgable about all kinds of music. So he's my guy for the sound of 'Jugalbandi'," said Sharma.

The question that may haunt some out there is, how interested would today's average youngsters be in classical Indian music?

Sharma, whose first cousin Neema is married to Ustad Amjad Ali Khan's son, has grown up amidst classical sounds.

"We make too many presumptions and suppositions about the tastes of youngsters. Shastriya sangeet is not the punjee (property) of the elite. We need to bring it to a contemporary platform without diluting it," he said.

For his film, the director intends to mix traditional Hindustani classical sounds with western sounds.

"I don't want 'Jugalbandi' to be restricted only to classical music. I'd also like to bring elements of jazz into the range of the film's theme. Amit Trivedi is well equipped for this."