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Performing for a Prince!

Coming from a family of doctors, one would expect Sachin Gupta to follow in their footsteps. Luckily for us, he chose to go with the guitar. 

The Delhi boy who started his career in music when he was just five-years-old is the music composer of the Vivek Oberoi starrer, Prince, releasing this Friday. The singer even sang in Tamil for the movie's dubbed Tamil version.

Before Prince came along, the 27-year-old was spotted by Ramesh and Kumar Taurani of Tips while he was performing at a show in London. He was onboard Tips to make an album Doorie with Pakistani singer Atif Aslam. Since then, there's no turning back for Sachin.

After the success of Doorie, he got a lot of film offers to compose and that is how Dil Kabaddi happened. He composed Ehsaan when Kumarji asked him to give some samples for Prince about a year and a half ago.

'I sing once in a while if my producers like my voice'

Kumar loved his voice so much that he made Sachin sing the songs in Prince. Sachin however never wanted to be a singer. "I'm happy being a music director. I like composing. I sing once in a while if my producers like my voice," he says.

"Somewhere down the line," Sachin says, "I always knew how to make music so I never had to try anything else. Music is the only thing I know."

So when did he develop an interest towards music?

"My grandmother used to play the harmonium but she passed away when I was very young. My mother told me that when I watched a guitar on TV, I would go crazy and jump. I used to cry for my guitar not my mother." [Laughs]

Asked if his parents weren't upset when he chose a different line of work and he smiles, saying, "my parents are always happy for me. My mother is Punjabi and one good news is more than enough for her to distribute ladoos to all the neighbours. When Doorie became a hit, she distributed ladoos and because of that the ladoo guy has a house of his own." [Laughs]

'My guitar is my guru'

Working with newcomers is no big deal for Sachin as he himself is relatively new. In fact, the composer liked working with Kookie Gulati, the first time director of Prince. Sachin has worked with Kookie in his music videos too.

"The one thing about Kookie is that he is the most sensible director I have met till date. He knows what he wants, shoots what he wants and delivers what he says," Sachin says.

Little do people know that composers don't need to be classically trained. According to Sachin, "My guitar is my guru."

Asked if he idolises any music director and pat comes the answer, "I don't idolise anyone. I believe that the moment you start doing that, you start following them and the moment you start following someone, you lose your identity."

Sachin has a very unique way of learning as he learns from the rickshaw drivers and from radio channels. He believes that Mumbai is a place that has something for everyone.

'Vivek can differentiate between good and bad music'

He doesn't have any favourite singers or composers or even music. "I like all kinds of music. The word music alone is enough for me," he says.

Though he has signed a few films after Prince, he doesn't want to talk about them until they release. Meanwhile he has been working on him album. "Something that I've been saying for the past three years," he laughs.

Working with Vivek Oberoi, he thinks is fun. He appreciates his efforts that have gone into making Prince and thinks that Vivek has an ear for music. "He can differentiate between good and bad music and I guess that is all you need to know if you are not a music director."

If he has an ear for music, then he would give his inputs too. How does he take such inputs?

Sachin says, "I listen to them. Everybody has their perspective about music and since you have to cater to 200 crore people, you have to take suggestions from others."

'I can't write notes, but I can compose music'

Gupta believes that there is no method to compose and that there is no such thing as learned music. 

"I believe, if you have a heart, you can compose. If you can feel someone's pain, feel the feelings around you, you can compose. There is no hard and fast rule or a formula to compose. I'm not a learned guy, I can't write notes, but I can compose music and know how to make 200 crore people love my music."

According to Gupta, music just happens. "It starts, it ends and if it doesn't end, you get frustrated. You leave it, run out of the house and go somewhere. If the music is yours, it will come to you. I truly believe that."

His best tip for aspiring musicians is: "Don't run after money and fame. The moment you do, your music will run away from you. Be true to yourself and you will rock."