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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Composers Naren Chandavarkar and Benedict Taylor build scores by treating sound as raw material: they reshape acoustic instruments, add electronics and make hybrid textures. In a 2020 interview with Scroll.in, they explain how that approach served the distinct needs of Paatal Lok, Sonchiriya and Newton—from a motif meant to make a child’s presence unmistakable to a Chambal-inspired western and the unusual sound of cardboard against guitar strings.
How Chandavarkar and Taylor turn instruments into sound
The duo’s starting point is not always a recognisable instrument part. Taylor says strings and voice are among his main instruments, but also offer a wide range of sounds to explore. The composers alter those sounds, combine them with electronics and use objects or homemade instruments to create textures that may not announce their source.
Chandavarkar described their shared interest simply: “We both have always loved to work with sound, and break things apart.” That approach has produced different techniques on different projects:
- For Ship of Theseus, wool placed around piano strings created a prepared-piano drone.
- For Newton, cardboard between guitar strings changed the instrument’s sound.
- For Udta Punjab, Chandavarkar said the score involved extensive electronic treatment.
They also make instrument hybrids by electronically mixing sounds from different instruments. The point is not novelty for its own sake: a changed or blended sound can serve a score when a conventional instrumental colour would be too familiar or too specific.
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When a theme should stand out—and when it should blur
The interview characterises Paatal Lok as relying largely on atmospheric “moodpieces,” while Betaal, Sonchiriya and Newton have more prominent themes. That is a distinction in emphasis, not a claim that Paatal Lok has no recurring musical ideas. Taylor describes its score as containing many returning themes and motifs, some deliberately blurred or made nebulous, interwoven across the series.
Cheeni’s recognisable motif in Paatal Lok
Cheeni’s theme was an intentional exception to the more elusive approach: the composers wanted audiences to recognise it. Taylor connects the motif to the child’s innocence amid difficult surroundings. Chandavarkar recalls the initial idea as “running away” and the bittersweet feeling of release, while noting that the characters cannot truly escape their pasts.
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A western reshaped by Chambal in Sonchiriya
For Sonchiriya, the score needed to support the western genre while drawing on folk music from the Chambal Valley. Chandavarkar says Taylor’s string parts replaced a horse-like western rhythm with an off-kilter waltz, closer to the walk of a camel. They also drew on the call-and-answer between violin and voice in Rajasthani folk music, and brought in Rajasthani violinist Babulal Jhawar to perform.
Cardboard and guitar in Newton
The cardboard placed between guitar strings for Newton is a compact example of the duo’s broader method: an acoustic instrument remains the source, but a physical intervention pushes it away from its familiar sound. It belongs to the same exploratory practice as altered piano strings, electronic processing and instrument hybrids, rather than a fixed signature effect applied to every film.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsHow the two composers collaborate across distance
Chandavarkar and Taylor have worked from homes, studios, hotel rooms and airports, exchanging voice notes and other material as they develop a score. They keep matching versions of a project on their computers so one can continue from the other’s changes. One composer may sketch a structure while the other fills it out or changes it; they exchange versions until the music feels finished.
This is a collaborative back-and-forth rather than a strict division into separate roles. The method lets one composer respond directly to the other’s evolving material even when they are not in the same place.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the director and film determine how much music is used
Chandavarkar describes directors’ involvement as varying by project. He says Avinash Arun, Anurag Kashyap, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Amit Masurkar often gave the composers carte blanche and commented after a cue was ready. Shanker Raman, Anand Gandhi and Prashant Nair were more involved in developing the conception.
The amount of score also changes with the film. Chandavarkar says Abhishek Chaubey’s films used wall-to-wall score, whereas Ship of Theseus, Killa and Harud had little background music. In Harud, he felt silence better conveyed oppression, making the music at the end more cathartic. As he put it, “Ultimately it really has to do with the project and what it needs.”
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What the interview says about mood and soundtrack releases
Taylor cautions against treating contemplative music as necessarily mournful: “I think it’s important to differentiate contemplative from mournful. I see great joy in some of the music that may seem mournful to some people.” It is a useful lens on the duo’s work: mood is not a simple label, and a score’s emotional meaning depends on how it functions in its story.
The interview also touches on the practical difficulty of accessing older film music. Chandavarkar recalls a director trying to license an obscure 1970s Bollywood score located through a collector in France, but the rights fee was too high for the film. He also says officially published recordings of Satyajit Ray’s scores informed their music for the international cut of Nil Battey Sannata. These are accounts of particular projects, not a guide to current soundtrack availability or licensing conditions.
Read Devarsi Ghosh’s full interview with the composers at Scroll.in (June 11, 2020).
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