Shashwat Sachdev on composing songs for Kesari Chapter 2: 'We’ve used music to reflect a war'

Music composer Shashwat Sachdevrsquos responses are measuredmdashas though hersquos analysing if his words justify the creative process of bringing the soundtrack of Kesari Chapter 2 The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh to life He tackles questions with a refreshing intuitiveness and yet ever so often he defeatedly laments ldquoI donrsquot know how to explain music with words Attempting to do so is like describing a colour to a person who has never seen that shaderdquoA still from the filmYet asked to detail what went behind crafting the music of the Akshay Kumarstarrer that is based on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre Sachdev seems welcoming when drawing us into his world ldquoI started my career with a film called Phillauri 2017 starring Anushka Sharma and Diljit Dosanjh which also had a chapter on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre Evidently I didnrsquot want to repeat the sonic palette of that film In fact even then I didnrsquot want the music to be dominated by Punjabi classic sounds because I wanted to depict it in a different way I did that then with the song called Sahiba Similarly the music of Kesari 2 is based on melodies that are classical but they sound like melodies that fit 2025rdquo he says Abhishek ChandranAn innocuous assumption would lead us to believe that Sachdev would at the very least sample past tunes from films based on the massacre to serve as inspiration But the composer dismisses the suggestion almost immediately Stating that the 1919 event that led to the death of several hundred individuals gave rise to a ldquonew Indiardquo Sachdeva wanted his music to support the wave of new ideas taking root in the countryrsquos fighters ldquoIndians were fighting for what was theirs and a revolution was underway These people discover a new voice and the protagonists of our film depict that I advised Karan Johar producer that if the fighters are discovering the voices of new India we should write music that defines that aspect So the main theme of our protagonist C Sankaran Nair is hiphop and modern music In a courtroom scene that aims to showcase the war between India and the British people wersquove used music to reflect a war But the tunes are not reminiscent of films showcasing scenes of weaponry They aim to reflect the charactersrsquo internal turmoil When the characters speak you can hear a warlike ballad in the score When they enter the courtroom and present their arguments the ballad reflects lossrdquoThe National Film Awardwinner may have many accolades to his name yet he describes his experiences of working on this venture with a giddy joy ldquoI was fortunate to create the main piece with Padma Bhushan awardee Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty whom Irsquove grown up listening to He sang a duet with Jubin Nautiyal Therersquos another rap song with Kingrdquo he says adding that joining hands with Sonu Nigam for the first time as well as collaborating with lyricist Irshad Kamil were among the highlights of his experience of working on the movie that will be released on April 18Akshay Kumar in Kesari Chapter 2About Kesari Chapter 2Kesari Chapter 2 The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh is a courtroom drama directed by Karan Singh Tyagi and produced by Dharma Productions Leo Media Collective and Cape of Good Films The spiritual sequel to Kesari is based on the book The Case that Shook the Empire by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat It revolves around C Sankaran Nair a lawyer and former President of the Indian National Congress who fought to unveil the truth behind the massacre The film also stars R Madhavan and Ananya PandayThe first film also starring Akshay Kumar told the true story of the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi where 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment bravely defended a fort against 10000 Afghan tribesmenatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params