Adrija Gupta is selective while describing the sonic world of Chhorii 2, choosing to refer to it as “not just a tune that speaks alongside the storyline” but music that befits the “universe of the film”. “[Director] Vishal Furia was certain that the whole universe of Chhorii [must have] a sound of its own. Every character has their own thematic [music], and when they all come together, they must make sense,” says Gupta, who created the sonic backbone of the Nushrratt Bharuccha-fronted offering.
Nushrratt Bharuccha’s Chhorii 2 is set to be released on April 11
Gupta recalls being pleasantly surprised by how swiftly Furia’s team worked to provide her with the instruments she needed to bring this world alive, despite few of them having fallen out of favour with musicians. “I wanted to [feature] instrumentation that isn’t even there anymore. But the production got them for me within a couple of days. I’ve used two of them, the ransingha and the nagfani, in the main title track. They haven’t been used in 100 years.” The specific instruments, she says, stood out because “they are both horns and indicate that something [prominent] is going to happen”. “These instruments speak of authority.”
A horror film, one would agree, is easily among the genres that could be the hardest to score for, given that the impact of any scene is significantly dependent on the music supporting it. For Gupta, it was her play with silence that served as the defining factor. “Silence is more [important] than any other frequency. It is what gives you the idea that something is going to happen. Finding the right time to place that silence in the film is what makes [an impact]. As a musician, I want to have music everywhere. Having said that, I also have to know where to stop. That was an amazing learning experience.”
