"I need to feel the movie and the music"

Arjunna Harjaie says he is extremely excited about the opportunity he has received to score for Lucknow Central. "Thanks to Nikkhil Advani sir, I have now successfully entered this platform."

On his approach to creating music, Harjaie says, "I approach everything from a storyline perspective. When I meet directors, I tell them, 'Don't tell me what kind of songs you need; tell me the story of the film and then I need to know where this song is placed. After I listen to the entire story, I need to take some time to internalise it. Because I am a musician, after a few hours, the music comes out of It doesn't matter if I have one song in the movie or two or three, I need to know about all the songs. That's just how I go about it. I need to feel the movie and the music."

On his first major Bollywood film, Harjaie remarks, "The Lucknow Central song that released just now is called 'Kabootar', and the other song, 'Kaavan kaavan', is already famous, by God's grace. When I was asked to recreate 'Kaavan kaavan', I was actually very scared. I don't really like to recreate old songs. So, in the case of 'Kaavan kaavan', I was nervous ki kaise hoga, kaisa banega because Sukhwinder ji has already done a marvellous job with it. Somehow, it managed to come out well."

An artist always needs inspiration to bring his creativity to life. What is Harjaie's inspiration behind his soulful melodies? "Talking about inspiration, woh doondh ke nikaalni padti hain cheezon mein se. When you are sitting and brooding, or having a happy moment, it all inspires you."

Harjaie reveals how he forges a bond with his listeners. "Connecting with listeners out there is very important and that's why I believe we need more original songs. A few recreations are fine, but these days almost every song is being recreated. I think my directors are capable enough to create something original out of nothing. There are so many people trying to connect with the audience but when you speak the truth through your music, listeners will automatically bond with your song. Today, people don't want dreamy songs from a fantasy land. They want real and raw music. Take, for example, Dangal's songs, which connected with everyone, regardless of their age. The tracks from Lucknow Central have the same quality," says the young composer.

With his first hit already in his kitty, Harjaie sheds some light on what else is happening for him on the professional front. "Nikkhil sir had pitched something to me for a future project. Maybe it is a film that is not yet titled.

We have had some discussions on this. Other than that, I recently started doing something on Instagram and Twitter and I am getting a good response," reveals Harjaie.