‘I consider myself a storyteller!’

Ankur writes,composes and sings and has hooked up with Pakistani music producer Xulfi for the sound. “I give the whole package. It’s natural for the lyrics and tune to come together. But Xulfi (who had done a song in Ek Chaalis Ki Last Local where I also did another song Bheegi seeli si) and I understood each other after jamming together. I like his experimental outlook and I needed a fresh perspective as a producer.” He stresses that he does not give undue thought to the matter of writing lyrics for others or using verse from someone else. “I did write most of the lyrics for Quick Gun Murugun,which did not have my music,” he points out.

The film innings for Ankur began when he directed and wrote the screenplay of the 2004 film Let’s Enjoy. It was last year that he wrote the story,screenplay and dialogues of Mukesh Bhatt’s Tum Mile,for whom he is now writing Crook. About not scoring music for these films,he says,“I did compose two songs in Let’s Enjoy. In films,it’s a collective process where you infuse ideas on a director’s vision. I work in compartments and even my parents asked me once,‘Ankur,what do you want to do? Are you a musician,a scriptwriter,a director or a writer?’ because I also write the occasional article too for friends.”

And Ankur adds,“It took me a long while to figure that out! And the conclusion is: ‘I am a storyteller – in various forms!’ When I do my own film or my own song,it’s closer to what I am. Otherwise,I try and enhance the art they want.”
Ankur feels that if a song is good it will connect. He is not pessimistic about today’s musical scene. “Some songs work years later. I composed Sabse peeche hum khade on a train journey from Bhopal to Delhi and used it in the low-budget Let’s Enjoy in my own voice,recording it at the cost of a few thousand with just a guitar. I also gave it to Silk Route and Mohit Chauhan sang a version of it. The Aao Wish Karein folks liked it and Kunal Ganjawala recorded it for this film and now I find small children singing it! It must be the only song that has the same lyrics sung by three different voices in two films!”

About music trends,he adds,“Art always reflects the political scenario. We are in a capitalist and consumerist age. When I was a kid,children wanted to be doctors and engineers. Now they want to be rich!”
And why is his band called The Ghalat (Wrong) Family? “We are like a dsyfunctional family that has come together from different walks of life – Mikey McLeary,Siddharth Coutto,Johan,Gaurav and Pozy. Mikey would arrange Lucky Ali’s albums and I would love them,” he says. “But I never thought that I would work with him one day,or in Delhi even with Shekhar Kapur at Digital Talkies,Bobby Bedi and Col.Kapoor,who made Fauji. Life can take you anywhere.”