“We want to produce content that is driven by strong ideas” – Ram Sampath

When you think of music composers who turned producers, a handful of names come to your mind. One of the first names that pops up in your head is that of Hemant Kumar. The legendary music director, who also lent his voice to many iconic songs, produced films like ‘Bees Saal Baad’, ‘Khamoshi’, ‘Biwi Aur Makan’, ‘Kohraa’ and ‘Faraar’. Since then, not too many composers have tried their hand at producing films. This year, one has witnessed a prominent music composer donning the hat of a producer rather seriously.

‘Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper’, a recently released show on Netflix marks Ram Sampath’s debut as a producer. The composer, who is known for his vast body of work in advertising and films like ‘Khakee’, ‘Delhi Belly’, ‘Talaash’, ‘Fukrey’, ‘Raman Raghav 2.0’ and ‘Raees’, has formed a production house named Rangeela Pictures with Puneet Krishna and Vineet Krishna. ‘Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper’ is the first piece of content produced by the company. As a composer, this has already been a fruitful year for Ram, what with his work on the Kiran Rao-directed ‘Laapataa Ladies’ receiving widespread appreciation.

In this interview, Ram talks about producing ‘Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper’, what led him towards becoming a producer, joining hands with Puneet Krishna and Vineet Krishna, the kind of content he wants to back as a producer, collaborating with Irshad Kamil on Aamir Khan Productions’ ‘Ek Din’ and more.

‘Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper’ marks your debut as a producer. Was the transition from being a music composer to a producer smooth?

I think it happened primarily because of my working relationship with Puneet. We had worked together on ‘Bangistan’ (2015). I had done the songs and the score for the film and he had written the lyrics. The failure of that film bonded us. We became really good friends and I was one of the bouncing boards when he was writing ‘Mirzapur’. We stayed in touch and would constantly talk about projects that we were doing. When he decided not to be a part of ‘Mirzapur 3’ and decided to create this show instead, I was one of the first people whom he called. That led to the formation of our company Rangeela Pictures.

Being a first-time producer, did you face any challenges while putting this show together?

I went in with some experience because I have been a part of the industry for a long time. I know what happens behind the scenes quite well. At the same time, I was a first-time producer. So, there was a lot to learn. I think all of us learnt a lot of things while making this show. The company is formed by Puneet, Vineet and I. Puneet and Vineet are brothers and have together created shows like ‘Mirzapur. While making this show, we got to learn about the different aspects of production. We also identified some of the problem areas or where we could face some challenges. Hopefully, we will get better as time goes by. We are very proud of this show.

Is there a particular reason behind the company being called Rangeela Pictures?

We want to tell colourful stories. That’s why we named it Rangeela Pictures (laughs). We are a writer-first company. We believe that unless things are right on the page, we should not shoot. We are not in a hurry. We want to do things that feel right to us.

The show boasts of a very interesting cast.

Every single actor on the show is phenomenal. They came to us with all the love in the world. They made our lives much easier. We will keep the collaboration going in the upcoming seasons of the show.

In the past, Puneet Krishna has been associated as a writer on shows like ‘Inside Edge’ and ‘Mirzapur’. This is the first he has directed a show.

Yes, Puneet has co-directed the show with Amrit Raj Gupta. Amrit had directed the first season of ‘Gullak’. Puneet wore a lot of hats on this show. Apart from being the co-director, he has been the creator, showrunner and chief writer on the show.

The show has a lot of music. While you have done the songs, the background score has been put together by Anurag Saikia.

I am a huge fan of Anurag’s work. The album have released as two volumes and are available on all audio streaming platforms.

Going forward, what kind of content you want to back as a producer?

We want to produce content that is driven by strong ideas. We believe we have a sacred duty to entertain. We are not here to moralise or preach. We are here to give you value for your time and entertainment. We want to produce content where everybody is keen on making something memorable and timeless and entertaining. We are not backing projects or assembling a big star cast just for the sake of it. We would much rather make content that has some intrinsic value to it.

As a composer, one of your upcoming projects is Aamir Khan Productions’ ‘Ek Din’. With this film, you collaborate with lyricist Irshad Kamil for the first time.

Irshad is a dream to work with. Not only is he a genius writer and lyricist, he is one of the easiest human beings to work with. He has got the ability to get to the heart of a situation or perspective. As opposed to the song stating what is being said on the screen, it becomes the subtext to the film. If you are missing somebody and the song says, “I am missing you”, then what’s the point? That has been one of the problems with the music in our films. That has been one of the problems with the music in our films. We have not had any subtext. Irshad knows how to bring a subtext and he also has a great understanding of how to make a pop song. Collaborating with him has been an absolute pleasure. Working with him was on my bucket list. I want to work with him a lot more.