Chhaayaageet #157 - "Describe the song to me in two words."

The producer is engaged in a conversation with the head of a music distribution label. They have been brainstorming about following up their earlier musical blockbuster hit with a sequel. They have a script. It's not exactly a sequel, it's not exactly a remake, but they think the script has the potential to be as big a musical blockbuster as their earlier collaboration.

The producer calls a young film director and gives him the script. "I want you to direct this film", he tells the young man. The young man has only directed thrillers so far. He is also itching to direct a love story as his next. The producer is confident that the young man can do it. "You have the emotional content in you, you can do it", he tells the director. "But you should reuse one of the old songs", the producer adds.

The young film director is not so sure. "Sir, my film won't depend on that." The young man is very sure of that. Times change, music changes, voice changes, the audience changes, the taste of the audience changes. The old songs are some 20 years old. His film, its music will be fresh.

The film is going to have a new hero and heroine. Two newcomers, who have been struggling to break out. The young director tells the producer, "I am not going to go with an established music composer. I am going to go with someone new." The producer gives the young man a free hand.

The young director reaches out to his close friend, also a young music composer. The composer has been doing some background music work, and a few films. But they both get each other. When the director is in the composer's studio, he feels as if he is the best version of himself. That's the vibe they share. The director tells his composer friend, "I want you to set the sur of the film".

The sittings begin. It is an intense process discussing song situations. The director always picks the most challenging situation in the film to compose as the first song. He gives only a short brief to the composer, "It's raining. The hero and heroine have had a very bad argument, she walks out, and he goes running after her."

The young composer works on this brief. After a few days he comes back with a tune. The director hears it. "This is a brilliant tune. But it is not communicating the turmoil in this situation." He proceeds to give a lengthy description, even enacting the scene to the composer.

"The hero and heroine have had a very bad argument. There is screaming back and forth. She walks out. After all the screaming, now there is silence. He realizes what he has lost. Love is not always pretty. There is struggle. And he realizes what he wants to say to her, that even if this is the path of destruction, I will walk the road with you. He runs after her. He wants her back. She, too, wants to get back. But, in the moment, she is not sure. How does he feel? How does she feel? This character, the hero, how would he feel pain? How would he hurt? He feels humiliated with himself. He is feeling vulnerable. It is the silence that needs to come out in the music", the director explores the depth of emotions in front of the composer. He is animated, excited, intense. While he is animating, he realizes it is time for him to be somewhere else, and is almost ready to walk out of the composer's studio.

The composer is taking all this in. As the director is ready to leave, the composer walks him to the door. He tells the director, "There are many layers in this. All this ideology that you have explained, give it to me in two words".

The director responds dismissively, "Arre yaar, now what do I tell you. I am not the lyric writer". The director is not in any mood to tax his brain further.

The composer persists. He is not asking much. Just two words. How would you describe the emotion in two words.

The director, half inside, half out the door, says without thinking, blurting the first words that come to his lips, waving the words away from him with his hand, "Tum hi ho". There's only you.

The story continues below...

Mithoon composed the song Tum hi ho for Aashiqui 2, directed by Mohit Suri, produced by Mukesh Bhatt, and Bhushan Kumar. The song is filmed on Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor. It is sung by Arijit Singh. This song put Arijit on the map. The film is based on Bradly Cooper and Lady Gaga's A Star Is Born.

After Mohit Suri described the song in two words, Mithoon walked back into his room and kept thinking about it for some time, and the melody and lyrics just came to him. He wrote:

Kyun ki tum hi ho, bas tum hi ho, meri zindagi ab tum hi ho,
Chain bhi, mera dard bhi, meri khudi ab tum hi ho.

But this was not enough. He knew Mohit always wants to hear the mukhda and the antara together. The beginning of the song is the face of the song hence it is called mukhda. But the heart of what the song really wants to say is inside, hence it is called the antara. So Mithoon wrote the scratch antara.

In their next sitting, when Mohit heard this tune and the words, he was blown away. But he had one change in mind, and was afraid to suggest it. The highest emotion of love is for the Lord and that's what Mithoon had written in the line "Meri khudi ab tum hi ho". So hesitatingly, Mohit asked, "Instead of khudi, can we put aashiqui?" Without thinking for a second, Mithoon said that fit perfectly. Mithoon then composed the opening piano notes, which are meant to represent the rain.

For the choice of playback singer, Mohit wanted a new voice. He and his team announced a nationwide search and conducted thousands of auditions to find a new voice for Aditya Roy Kapur. By that time, Mithoon had already recorded the song in Arijit's voice. When Mithoon's assistant told him about the nationwide search that had commenced, he said, "Let them search all over. This song will only be in Arijit's voice."

When Mohit heard the recording with Arijit, he was immediately taken by it, and decided that Arijit would sing all the songs in the film. Since Mithoon had written only scratch lyrics, Mohit asked the lyricist of the film to rewrite the song. However, that feeling was not coming through. So they decided to keep the scratch lyrics by Mithoon as the final.

Aashiqui 2 became a huge hit and was the biggest commercial success of 2013. The popularity of Tum hi ho went off the charts. It's as if the country got a new love anthem again, after Pehla nasha. Mithoon won Best Music Director (along with other composers in the film Ankit Tiwari and Jeet Ganguly), Arijit Singh won Best Playback Singer (Male) for Tum hi ho. Mithoon won the IIFA award for Best Lyrics.

Mithoon and Arijit performing this song live on stage:

Mithoon breaks down this song in this amazing video:

Music: Mithoon Sharma
Lyrics: Mithoon Sharma
Singer: Arijit Singh
*ing: Aditya Roy Kapur, Shraddha Kapoor
Director: Mohit Suri
Producer: Mukesh Bhatt, Bhushan Kumar
Film: Aashiqui 2 (2013)