Mithoon has his hands full

Mona

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Music director, lyricist, composer and singer, Mithoon is one popular name in the entertainment industry today. Starting with Zeher in 2005 to his most recent Shamshera, he’s been behind most hit songs in the last 17 years.

The journey to this success has been an arduous one. A fourth generation musician, his grandfather Pt. Ramprasad Sharma has been a revered guru, his tayaji Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (one half of Laxmikant-Pyarelal) a celebrated name in the industry and his father Naresh Sharma has arranged music for over 200 films. Music is what Mithoon loves, and does!

His approach to making music is like no others. “I have no song bank, everyone knows that,” opens up Mithoon, as three of the films that he has given music for release in the month of July – Khuda Hafiz 2, HIT: The First Case and Shamshera.

“When I take a new project, I ask for the script of the film first.” While he considers making music to be his param dharma, he’s taken to writing lyrics lately and quite enjoying the process. “I feel fortunate that people of India have loved the songs I wrote. I wrote for Aashiqui 2, Sanam Re, Kabir Singh and now Shamshera.”

The songs that he has sung have also brought much admiration his way. How does he feel about singing? “That’s not my first love. But if I come across a song that suits my range, I would sing for sure,” says Mithoon, who has crooned Aye Khuda and Woh Ajnabee.

About the three films in July, he says, “Shamshera is my first period drama set in the 19th century, Hit is a contemporary, realistic film delineating the challenges of police officers. Khuda Hafiz 2 is a sequel, a revenge drama that goes with Vidyut Jamwal’s action image. Music for each was very different and a distinct journey!”

He credits the success of this journey to his father. “There is huge emphasis on training and riyaaz in our family. Mere pitaji ne mujhe bahut kathin raste se guzaar ke sangeetkar banaya hai!”

He has spent equal amount of time and efforts on learning about Indian cinema as well. While his favourite music composers remain Laxmikant-Pyarelal, he’s fond of Manmohan Desai and Subhash Ghai films, interestingly his favourite heroes are Sanjeev Kumar and Vinod Khanna.

How about women composers in the industry? While he admits that compared to men, there are few, naming Sneha Khanwalkar and Usha Khanna to be very good and successful at their craft, he says, “I don’t think the gift of music is gender based. Our fraternity is also very welcoming to new talents. I am all for young women composers.”

Watching sports, reading, travelling and enjoying different cuisines are what Mithoon loves to do in his free time, which is rare. Some of his upcoming films include Ek Villain Returns and Gadar 2: The Katha.

His favourite

We ask Mithoon to name his most favourite song and he readily comes up with Maula Mere Maula from Anwar. “It was not a big budget film, no huge promotions or campaigns for this one, but based on its simplicity and truthfulness the song reached far and wide.”