Musician Karan Kulkarni: 'Raat Akeli Hai' has a dark, mysterious background score

Musician Karan Kulkarni says that composing a 'dark' and 'mysterious' background score for the Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer Raat Akeli Hai was a time consuming yet satisfying experience for his team. He adds that the director gave him plenty of time to come up with the soundtracks, which made things a lot easier. The Shahid composer also opens up about working on the web series Breathe into the Shadows and the impact of the streaming revolution on music directors.

(Edited excerpts from an email interview with DH)

How was the experience of composing the background score for Raat Akeli Hai?

Raat Akeli Hai has, what I think is a dark, subtle and mysterious score. We took our time with it and the director- Honey Trehan was very supportive. It took us a while to arrive at something that all of us liked. However, I'm quite happy with the way the score has turned out. We've used some unique instruments and techniques, to create the sounds.

How different an experience was Shakuntala Devi compared to Raat Akeli Hai?

Shakuntala Devi is a completely different type of film and the score complements the content. It's brighter and suits the story. This one was a unique challenge as the entire team working on the score had to complete the project from home. It's the first project we scored entirely during the lockdown. It was a bit tricky, even psychologically, to be locked down, unsure, and still be working. I am glad that we managed

You impressed a section of the audience with your work on the web series Breathe Into The Shadows.

Breathe Into The Shadows (also called Breathe 2) was a great experience. I had a lot of fun working with the director, Mayank, and all at Abundantia Entertainment. We had a great time experimenting with sounds and creating an entirely electronic score.

What are the challenges associated with composing the background score for a web series?

As the series had plenty of long episodes the big challenge was to deliver the work on time, We, however, managed to sail through. I feel that there's a bit of (more) freedom when working on content for streaming platforms. One does, however, have to keep in mind that the medium is different and the audience consumes the content on televisions, laptops, and phones. The nature of the score has to be tailored accordingly, during production and mixing.

What is your take on the digital/streaming revolution?

There is a lot of freedom to work on content people believe in. The bar has been set high by the content seen on OTT platforms (so far). Everyone is striving to achieve that. Newer forms of story-telling and music will emerge as a result of this medium.

How are you keeping yourself busy during the lockdown?

I'm spending time studying and practicing new forms of music. I am trying out instruments that I don't play otherwise