Filmmaker Turns Composer: Music is Film's Soul

Filmmaker Srijit Mukherji has embraced a new role as a music composer, viewing music as the essential backbone of his cinematic narratives. This career shift stems from a lifelong immersion in diverse musical genres, from his father’s record collection featuring Bengali classics, folk, and international artists, to audio stories of epics like the Ramayana. Mukherji firmly believes in the subcontinental tradition of storytelling through songs, a stance that has sometimes led to conflicts with festival programmers.

He integrates music not merely as background scores but as crucial narrative elements, a practice that began around 2009-2010. Mukherji has since composed for several projects, including his own films and those of other directors. His musical sensibility for period dramas can lean traditional, but he adapts to serve the film's specific brief, as seen with the K-pop-inspired title track for 'Goenda Kanai'.

Mukherji's work with actors like Anirban Bhattacharya as a composer involves pivoting from acting directions to detailed musical briefs, leveraging the actor's vocal versatility. He also expressed a keen interest in developing food-centric film projects, exploring genres like food thrillers and rom-coms, highlighting a gap in Bengali cinema beyond 'Maacher Jhol'. His political stance, focused on issue-based narratives, influences his filmmaking by demanding the inclusion of opposing perspectives.