Har Gully Mein Rochak Kohli
Music composer Rochak Kohli, who hails from Chandigarh, is a qualified lawyer and completed his LLB from Punjab University. He actively pursued theatre along with his education for more than eight years. He made his music debut in Shoojit Sircar’s romantic comedy Vicky Donor with Pani da Rang. The song was made in collaboration with Ayushmann Khurrana and both the movie and song were well received.
Today he has a list of famous Bollywood songs to his credit- from Oh Heeriye to singing and composing music for Har Gully Mein Dhoni Hai from M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story to songs for Naam Shabana to the latest Bank Chor.
With the World Music Day just around the corner, we exclusively spoke to Rochak about his entire journey and all things music. Read on:
From law to a career in music, how has the journey been so far?
The journey has been full of experiences and surprises. However, all my learning during my Law and Corporate job have been extremely helpful to sustain myself in the film industry. When I graduated, music was not seen as a full time career. Not many people, including me, knew what a music composer exactly does. Thus I chose to complete my LLB to be secure in the family profession, and then took off when I felt a little confident about doing music.
How has it been working with Ayushmann Khurana? Can we see you working with him soon?
Ayushmann is a splendid team-mate. The entire industry swears by his professional standards and humility. We have joyfully collaborated on various projects in the path and look forward for the same in future too. Just waiting for the right moment and the right song!
What’s your take on the recent controversy regarding actors turning into singers and performing at national and international platforms?
We have to remember that we work for a commercial industry. We make music for films, and films largely function on BO success. Usually actors sing promotional songs and earns millions of eyeballs. It’s a rather innovative idea to save advertising budgets and spend on something creative.
Singers are usually the ones who get fame and success. However, lyricists and composers often don’t get their due. Why do you think is there this gap?
Singers can be compared to actors and composers and lyricists are like directors of a film. Both together make it a success. However, it’s understood that singers are the voice of a song... the direct connect with the masses and composers and lyricists are the ones behind the scenes who make it happen.
Which sphere of music would you now want to venture into?
I want to work in the film space as much as I can. It’s highly challenging and equally rewarding. I am also keen to move out of the studio and start live gigs.
