As music man Vishal Dadlani gets set to pick India's next rock band he jams about his beginnings and Bollywood
As music man Vishal Dadlani gets set to pick India's next rock band he jams about his beginnings and BollywoodSO what are you listening to?" asks Vishal Dadlani, he of rock band Pentagram and the Vishal of Vishal-Shekhar.
Correct us if we are wrong but should we not be asking that question? Delhi-6, we say and he breaks into a smile. The world has not enough asterisks for us to put in this article to censor the swear words he uses.
Maybe it comes with the territory of being a rocker. "What's a quintessential rocker?" he asks with slight irritation. Sex, drugs, rock and roll, the devil-may-care attitude? "Yes I did have women... but it was not like I was sleeping with everyone on the block. I did not do drugs or go drunk. I love my family, my friends and band.
That's my rebellion (against the typical bad boy image). That does not make me less of a rocker," states Vishal.
So when was his I-Can-Become-A-Rocker moment? "My first memory of music is my mum singing to me as a toddler, in the crib types. My father introduced me to Elvis Presley who changed the world with his music. I saw all his performances. My sister loved him for the way he looked. But even if he was blind, crippled and in a wheelchair, I would have loved him, for his music. I was just getting into the concept of changing the way music is perceived. My neighbour introduced me to Chuck Berry and Jim Morrison on the same day. After our gig, I was buzzing with energy. I told my father 'I'm not sure how you are going to take this but this is want I want to do.' And to his credit he told me to go ahead. I come from a business family and thought I would end up there."
But Vishal had a dream and this one was clear, vivid and bright. It was him on stage and "people going ape s''t!" He claims, though that music just happened to him. "I had just learnt to play the guitar and Shiraz called and asked if I wanted to be part of a band." Pentagram was in place with Shiraz, Clyde, Vishal Randolph and Papal joining a year later. But like any upcoming band would tell you, finding a place to jam can be quite a pain.
"We played at my house. Thankfully, my parents, neighbours and the girls in Sophia (college) were very kind.
Either that or we were very good!" So they had a female following early on. "The bras they threw at us were the dirty elastic variety. You could make out it was a spare one," says Vishal with a straight face.
Strangely enough he does not clearly remember the band's first gig. "I have no memory of it. I think we played at Essel World for New Year and the only people in the audience were the other band, Chakravyuh. But I can proudly say that we played one of our own songs at our first gig."
You would think that it was smooth sailing from there on. But at live gigs everything that could go horribly wrong, did. "Right from when we started, we have been giving a detailed technical plan to the organisers. But Murphy's Law comes into effect at every stage. There have been times when people missed their flights, a section of speakers have failed and we have asked the audience to move to the other side. It's not about the sound, it's about how high you can take them with your music."u00a0
From being a rocker to composing songs for Bollywood movies, the transition... "I did not make a transition. I am still that guy (the rocker)," he cuts in. "I wrote my first love song, Woh Pehli Baar (Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi), for the girl I love, now my wife and director Raj Kaushal asked if I could do more." Vishal says that he and Shekhar work with close friends like Farah Khan, Tarun Mansukhani (director Dostana) and Shankar Ehsaan Loy.
"We eat so much together. It's obscene!"
Yet there is a side to Bollywood music that he is not too crazy about. "Most directors think that if you change a line in the song, it becomes a hit. It's not the question of a hit song, you have to put your soul into the song.
Not many people get to see Shekhar and me in the studio, but we are laughing and feeling the vibe of the song. I called him up and sang Ajab Si (Om Shanti Om) and he said 'God is good, man'. There is a formula but chances are you won't make good music if you stick to it."
Since he is the judge on Channel [V]'s Launch Pad, a competition to find India's next rock band, what formula would the member of one of India's best rock bands say works? "We are the best in the world!" he corrects.
"As a rock band you need to have tenacity, you need to not listen to what others have to say, tell them to f''k off and go with what you feel. There are bands in the competition singing in English, Hindi and Bengali.
"I remember we were performing at a competition at JJ Medical College, they for some reason had a rock band competitionu2026 and we lost, we came second. I went up to the judge (who is he? we will leave that aside) and told him that one day we would be great and that he's a donkey. Well, I am the donkey now. Ten years from now, the bands may be great and not even remember my name." That would make his role as judge redundant.
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"I'm there to tell them how they can shine. They are still raw. To tell them that s''t happens and how they can beat that."
An hour later, we're convinced that Vishal Dadlani can beat any s''t that comes his way and also that he rocks. Pun fully intended.
