Musicians should keep practicing, keep listening, keep entertaining the audience and carry forward this great art by giving good music to the world, says Surel Ingale-Young Music Director

 He is calm, he is focused, music has always been his passion since birth. Belonging from a music family with his father (Milind Ingale) being a renowned composer and singer, he chose to create a mark on his own. After getting recognition and awards as a debutant music director for a Marathi film, he is motivated to achieve greater heights. Let's Talk Life with  young  music director Surel Ingale, where he talks about his family, passion for music , his first film , awards, and his newly discovered love for photography.

• Kindly tell us something about yourself?

I am currently studying BMM in KC college,  I am in my last year now. I studied Arts in St.Xaviers college after passing out from school. I LOVE music, films, reading books, eating at different places, photography (new found love). I don’t like cheesy bollywood movies and songs :p I don’t like these item songs which all sound the same and are composed in the same 3 chords.

• What are you currently doing professionally?

I am still a student so I am not doing anything professionally right now. But I do compose for short films as and when  I get offers. Also I teach piano and keyboard privately and in “Music and Soul Academy” at Vile Parle. I have also interned as an assistant sound engineer at  Yashraj Films and wish to study sound engineering further after graduation.

• What made you choose this career?

As I am still studying, I have still not taken up any career. I wish to study further and then pursue a career. I plan and wish to pursue music production and sound engineering as my career in the near future.

• You have been playing piano since the age of 8, what motivated you to be a music director at such a young age?

Although I started learning piano at the age of 8 I had never really planned to become a composer. I first started taking piano lessons from Mr.Mandar Parkhi who is my first piano teacher. My dad sent me to his place because he wanted me to learn some musical instrument and also I had shown interest in learning music since childhood. Gradually as I started understanding the basics of music I started developing interest in composing. But I accidentally got into composing professionally when I composed my first song for the Marathi film “Prem Mhanje Prem Mhanje Prem Asta”. There is a very funny story of how I got to compose for that film.

• Having a legacy of music, has it helped you in any ways to make a mark in the field?

I am the 6^th generation in my family who is in the field of music so that puts a great deal of responsibility on me to continue this tradition. My father or even my grandfather never forced me to take up music. My father always encouraged me to do whatever I felt like doing. But as I said music runs in my genes so it was bound to come up some day and I am happy that I am a part of this wonderful artistry. Having a legacy of music has definitely helped in a way that I can always take inspiration and learn from the music and musical knowledge that my family members have. If ever I have any kind of doubts or if I want suggestions while making music I can always ask my dad or grandfather. So in a way it is definitely a plus for me to have a musical background but also I would never use these contacts to get work in the industry. Whatever work I get I wish to get in on the strength of my own talent and hard work.

• Your father Mr. Milind Ingale himself is a versatile singer and composer? Is he your inspiration?

Yes of course the biggest inspiration in my life would be my dad. I have been listening to him singing and composing since the day I was born. What can be better than a professional singer singing lullabies to you every day while sleeping! And also I am largely influenced by his composing style and you can see that in the music which I compose. He always tells me to not let go of the melody whichever genre of music you are making. In fact the word melody is carved on his harmonium also.

• Talk about your first movie as an independent Music Director?

As I said there is a story to how I got the role of composing music for the film “Prem Mhanje Prem Mhanje Asta”. The director of the movie Mrs. Mrinal Kulkarni who is a very well known actress in the Marathi and Hindi film and TV industry had first contacted my father to compose the music for her film which was her first film as a director. There were 2 songs in the movie and both were very situational. One was a romantic song and the other one was a very deep sad song. So my father had finished recording the first song which was the romantic song and he was working on the second song. So one day I saw the sheet of lyrics of the 2^nd song lying on my piano and I just tried to compose the first few lines of the song just for timepass because I had no other work to do that time. And a few days back my father had told me about this song being very difficult to compose as the lyrics were a bit complicated and not the usual lovey-dovey types. So I made my dad listen to the few lines which I had composed and he liked it very much and told me record it. By that time even  he had composed a different tune for the same song but he personally liked my version better. So when he met Mrs. Mrinal Kulkarni the director of the movie he made her listen to both the versions and initially he did not disclose to her  that one of them was composed by me. After she was done listening he asked her which one did she like better and she said she liked the second one which was the one I had composed and then he told her that the song was in fact composed by me and not him. So that’s how I got my first break and first ever song for which I got 2 awards this year in the “Best Debut Music Director” category. One was the “Chitrapadarpan Puraskar” and other one was “Sanskriti Kaladarpan awards”.

• You are currently pursuing your BMM , how do you manage composing and studies?

Currently I am not working on a lot of musical projects as I am concentrating on studies. Also as I said I have not yet accepted music composing as a full time career as I wish to study further and then decide what career suits me the best. Also BMM is a very chilled out course and it always gives you that time which is needed to do any kind of professional work outside of bmm. And the work that we do outside is usually related to our course of study.

• Apart from Music , what do you do in your past time ?

Apart from music I love doing a lot of things ! I am a huge movie buff and I watch 1 movie almost everyday. I also have a liking towards photography and thanks to my dad for an  awesome birthday gift which he gave me last year, a professional DSLR so that I could pursue this hobby . I love to hangout with my friends and go for small holidays on weekends like we recently went to Pune which is like my second home now. I am also a big foodie and I love trying out new places to eat and especially sea-food restaurants.

• Perks of choosing your career?

The best part of being a musician like any other creative field is being able to earn your living by doing what you love to do the most. Also unlike an office job here you don’t have any fixed working hours and you are not working under anyone’s pressure. But I think in today’s world being in the music field has more challenges than advantages due to the rising competition in this field. There are too many people trying to make their mark in the industry and trying to reach out to the audience. There is a constant pressure of failure and there is extreme lack of stability. An artist can earn huge amounts of money in one month but he can be sitting at home without any work in the next month. There is no stability or assurance of work. Sometimes even hard work doesn’t pay as many artists are fooled by record labels and event organizers with regards to payment of money. So in the end you have to keep in mind all these things before taking up music as a full time job.

• Challenges that you faced during your journey? How did you overcome them?

I think I am still  in that phase where I have to face many more challenges in life but I will tell you some of the challenges which I faced while composing for my first film. Being the youngest person in the entire group of musicians who worked with me was pretty challenging. You are always afraid of telling your opinions or making decisions in front of senior musicians. The singer who sang my song Mr. Ravindra Sathe is a very senior person in the industry so at first I was scared as to whether he would like my song or not and how he will react to it. But in the end he liked the song very much and made me comfortable during the recording by giving me the freedom to tell him what was exactly needed for the song. Also there was this pressure of working under such a big banner and anticipating whether people would like the song or not. But the biggest fear I faced was something which is not related to music at all. I was told that during the recording and during the music launch and film promotions I would have to talk to the media and give them interviews. And if you know me I am a very shy person and I am shit scared to talk in public or come in front of the camera. My mom helped me the most to overcome this fear. Being a journalist  by profession she knows how a question should be answered and eventually I got over that fear after a few interviews.

• What was your 'Nothing is Impossible moment'?

I think my nothing is impossible moment was when I came to know to know that the director had actually liked my song and my song was going to get featured in a movie.

• Lastly what advice would you give to the aspiring Music directors who want to make their mark in the field?

I don’t think I have reached  a stage where I can advise other music directors but I think we all musicians should keep practicing, keep listening , keep entertaining our 

audience and carry forward this great art by giving good music to the world.

Stay Connected

• https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lets-Talk-Life-Nothing-is-Impossible/892619790767694
• http://letstalklifenothingisimpossible.blogspot.in/