It’s been a great privilege to work with Sanjay sir: Shreyas Puranik

Singer and music composer Shreyas Puranik has a rap in ‘Aila Re’ from ‘Malaal’ and has also sung and composed ‘Naad Khula’ in the film

Shreyas Puranik shifted to Mumbai in 2008 to learn singing from Suresh Wadkar. It was also then that he released his first album as a composer, with Padma Wadkar. In 2014, he got his first chance to assist film-maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Bajirao Mastani (2015). This, he believes, was the start of his musical journey in Bollywood.

Singer Shreyas Puranik has a rap in ‘Aila Re’ from ‘Malaal’ and has also sung and composed ‘Naad Khula’ in the film

Shreyas says, “My family has always been musically oriented. While growing up, I was always surrounded by music. I remember listening to a lot of songs by my guru — Suresh Wadkar, Sonu Nigam, Ghulam Ali and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.”

His next is a Aila Re, a Marathi rap for the upcoming film, Malaal. “For the very first time, a Bollywood song has a Marathi rap in it, I had sung the scratch and eventually, Sanjay sir really liked it and thus, it happened to be my first ever rap. I have also sung and composed Naad Khula, is a Marathi word which means crazy addiction to something.”

On working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, he adds, “It’s been a great privilege to work with Sanjay sir. This has been my third movie as a music assistant. His knowledge about different cultures reflects in each of his compositions. Also, his guidance has helped me a lot in the music making process of my song Naad Khula.”

The lyrics for the film have been penned by Prashant Ingole, and the two have worked together before, as well. “Prashant is an exceptional writer and has a different vision in terms of writing for any situation. We have worked on a lot of projects including Gajanana from Bajirao Mastani. He cracked Naad Khula and in a span of 15 minutes, we were ready with the tune, though the entire process took more than two years.”

Shreyas has composed songs for films such as Photocopy (2016), Lapachhapi (2017) and Faster Fene (2017), which have won multiple awards and acclamations. “There are some amazing films being made and the Marathi industry is a growing market. I am looking forward to doing more work. I also composed the title track for Riteish Deshmukh’s reality show, Vikta Ka Uttar(2016).”

He adds that his training in classical music had helped him along the journey. He adds that one should have knowledge of Indian classical music, alongside other genres. It makes a musician stronger and widens the vision to sing and compose. He says, “Naad Khula is based on Raag Bhimpalasi. I am working on a lot of independent music with some amazing singers and fresh talent. Also, some Bollywood projects are in the pipeline and I can’t wait to announce them.”