An Audacious Attempt

Raju Singh

I was overjoyed when I was given the opportunity to compose music for Sholay 3D. But as the days went by, my enthusiasm began to give way to trepidation. I was after all expected o walk in the footsteps of the legendary RD Burman.

This was Sholay 3D... The objective was to make it bigger and better without eroding the soul of the original. There was no way we could improve on perfection. It would be sacrilege to attempt to even change a note from the original. Yet, I had to recreate the music, as the original print had undergone much wear and tear and the music was barely audible in many places.

The challenges were near insurmountable, as back in the day when Sholay was made, the entire group of musicians would play to the hand movement of a single conductor, who would stand before them, guiding them. 

Today, we have equipment to time each beat and rhythm, but when Sholay was made rhythm depended on the rise and fall of the human hand! Add to that electrical fluctuations that would leave their own signature on the recording.

Raju Singh

We had to recreate the music from the scratch, ensuring that the flaws were maintained, so that the true character of the music could be preserved. These flaws actually added to the beauty of the music and without them the sound of Sholay 3D would sound hollow and emotionless. 

I'm grateful to the producers of Sholay 3D for placing so much faith in me and letting me take on challenges like recreating the magic of Mehbooba-Mehbooba. You have no idea how many sleepless nights I have spent on that one! The press has always been eager to write the obituary of anyone who messes up an RD number.

Then of-course was the challenge of the melancholy mouth-organ that Jai played. I actually used three different people to play the instrument and still somewhere deep down inside, I felt that something was missing. 

It is now upto the audience to decide... My dear movie lovers... Go watch Sholay 3D on Jan 3... and tell me if you feel the magic.