From Bajirao Mastani to Pathaan: Making Music with Sanchit and Ankit Balhara

“While growing up, we would watch those typical Nineties’ style marriage function videos — where the videographer would simply copy-paste a single song against all the moments at the event, be it happy or sad —  that’s when I first realised how music can make or destroy the beauty of a visual,” said Ankit Balhara, one half of the composer duo Sanchit and Ankit Balhara. The brothers have composed the background score for epic films like Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) and their work on Pathaan (2023) has been applauded as one of the film’s highlights. Pathaan is the second time the brothers have worked with director Siddharth Anand, having previously worked with him on War (2019). 

Sanchit remembers War as a challenging film because it was the Balharas’ first contemporary action film after a series of historical dramas. Sanchit had collaborated with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018). “While I agree that sometimes too many voices and on a project can hamper the final output, Sanjay sir always gave us freedom to experiment and choose the approach for work on each of our collaborations, be it Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat or Gangubai Kathiawadi,” said Sanchit. To be able to work with a director like Bhansali as newcomers in the industry is a tremendously lucky break, but Ankit pointed out that one can struggle even while succeeding. “For some artists, not getting a day off for months or working on two hours of sleep can feel challenging enough, while for others not so much. So that part of the journey remains subjective. What stays common and essential is the need to enjoy your working process through it all,” he said.   

Ankit, 37, and Sanchit, 34,  grew up in a musically-inclined household. Their father was a professional singer who sang for Hindi and Haryanvi films while their mother had been a theatre performer with a deep interest in music. Sanchit’s early memories are of listening to the score Love Story (1970), composed by Francis Lai. “My father had bought that record, and I would keep listening to it,” he said. “It made me feel so many emotions even though I had not seen the film, and had no idea about the story. I was free to imagine a story around it.” While Sanchit was sure he wanted to be a composer, Ankit took a little longer to come round to the idea. Their parents encouraged the brothers to pursue music as a career, but also offered constructive criticism which Ankit says has helped the composers maintain their perspective. “There were times when we didn’t agree with each other or kept pushing each other to try harder. One must have the readiness to work on a piece again and again until everyone is convinced about it, and is on the same page,” said Ankit.  

The brothers began looking for work sometime in 2013 and their initial years were spent working as music producers for films like Goliyon ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013) and Singh Saab the Great (2013). Sanchit’s maiden opportunity came with Bajirao Mastani and by the time Bhansali started working on Padmaavat, the Balhara duo was formed. “When we heard Padmaavat’s script, I told Ankit to hum that tune again which seemed to fit perfectly,” said Sanchit, recalling a melody that he’d heard Ankit humming over the years. “And Sanjay sir approved it instantly.” The composer duo also worked on films like Manikarnika (2019) and Kalank (2019) before returning to collaborate with Bhansali on Gangubai Kathiawadi. They worked on the film for almost two years, owing to the pandemic which led to delays. “When the work-speed slowed down, it left us with a lot of time. The more time we have, the more we see the scope to change things, to improve — and that process never stops. Sometimes, the process takes as much as two years or three years. Resultantly, once we finish working on such a project, we don’t go back to it for a while. One needs to be detached,” said Ankit. Sanchit laughed and recalled many moments during their car rides when the brothers would immediately reach for the ‘next’ button if any of their own compositions popped up on a playlist.

Whether it’s a period drama or an action spectacle, the primary goal of a background score is to give the director music that marries well with the visuals, said the Balharas.  “If the first thing a viewer talks about is their music or camerawork, it’s not good work. The story has to work primarily — only then do you notice other things,” said Ankit. Working on Pathaan with Anand, the composer duo were involved from the very beginning and their score leans on the film’s plot and characterisation. Speaking of the theme for John Abraham’s character Jim, who is the hero’s nemesis, Ankit said, “If you notice, there is an uncomfortable percussion sound at the start of Jim’s theme. We then tried to reverse that sound, like giving an element of untangling something, as the theme proceeds.”  For the titular Pathaan, they wanted a musical theme that evoked both a sense of patriotism and also added some heroic flair. “The limited use of female locals in the final version effectively brings an element of swag for Pathaan’s intro scene, which music alone couldn’t have achieved perhaps,” said Ankit.

Speaking about their contemporaries, Sanchit mentioned Andrea Guerra’s score for Sharat Kataria’s Sui Dhaaga (2018). “I loved the abstract approach he brought to the film,” said Sanchit. “It felt fresh because he brought in sensibilities of his own, something that we usually don’t associate with our stories or culture.” The duo also list composers like John Williams, Thomas Newman and James Horner as their inspirations. Sanchit specifically mentioned Williams’s use of classical music in films like Jurassic Park (1993). “We attempted doing something similar and retained a slight element of Indian Classical [music] while designing Pathaan’s score, which was otherwise very Western.” The brothers also listen to music from an eclectic range of genres. Ankit said, “One can learn or get inspiration from anywhere, or anyone during a regular conversation which isn’t necessarily about music. And we have consciously tried to never think of ourselves as fully established with no more scope to improve. The key is to always keep yourself open to learning.”