Apr 26, 2026 11:49am IST
Ram Sampath: ‘I Am Not Interested At All in Fame or its Fringe Benefits’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Composer Ram Sampath is pretty selective in the films he takes up, but remains a prolific scorer of jingles. Over the past 24 years, beginning with “Let’s Talk” (2002), Sampath has also composed music for about 20 films, with “Laapataa Ladies” (2024) being his last screen outing before the upcoming “Ek Din,” starring Aamir Khan’s son, Junaid Khan.
Here’s what he had to say in a freewheeling chat with Variety India.
Do you still take up jingles?
Off and on, yes. But not too many.
Why so super-selective in the films you take up?
Very often, the film I sign is not how it ends up! I love creating music, and I am not interested at all in fame or its fringe benefits! I am very happy to enjoy my work, and if I don’t feel connected to something, and it does not feel right, I would rather not take it up. With regards to my 15-year-long association with Aamir Khan, he actually wants something new every time and something he and I enjoy, rather than what is trendy.
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Looking at your film repertoire and today’s trends, is it also because of multi-composer films?
That is one of the reasons! I am not good at multi-composer films! I can’t understand how to work in them, and I don’t see the point! For me, a film soundtrack should be done by one composer. That is the gold standard! In this respect, we are going away from our roots and our traditions. Hindi films are losing their identity. That is one of the big problems we have today!
How supportive are you of new voices in your soundtracks?
The very first film song I recorded, “Waada Raha” from “Khakee” had a new singer, Arnab Chakraborty. At that time, even his co-singer, Shreya Ghoshal, was quite new! Since then, I have regularly worked with a whole bunch of new voices. I like to use fresh voices, but there are a whole lot of factors involved when it is felt that a commercial need is for someone more established. In “Ek Din”, I have used Meghna Mishra’s voice and she has sung so beautifully. She was the voice for Zaira Wasim in “Secret Superstar”.
‘Ek Din’ will be your first film with Irshad Kamil. How was your experience
Irshad Kamil is probably the most sensitive lyricist right now. He has a unique take on love and all its shades. His exceptional mind has this special ability to tap into the subtext of the script, and understand that which is unsaid. And then say that! He shows an economy of words, and writes the biggest thoughts in the simplest way! That is so much like the music I grew up on, where the screenplay never stopped because the song that came in at a juncture had so much more to say!
Have you ever used AI in your music?
No, not really. Also, I am not against AI; it can be a very smart assistant. But at the most, it can make suggestions to prompts and is a very generic collection of everything that has come before. AI can be a very good tool if you want generic music, though. And thanks to it, a lot of generic music is going to get devalued. Which I feel is not a bad thing at all!
Please elaborate.
There was, for example, a situation in “Delhi Belly”, wherein a guy on a bike is spying on his landlord visiting a “kotha” (brothel). That has a sleazy undertone to it. It takes us to look at the situation and say, “Yahaan ek accha kothewala gana ban sakta hai (we can make a good situational song here).” It’s for us to join the dots and create something. So much of creativity comes from the life you have led. But AI can’t join these dots in context, and I find AI particularly bad at this, which is what creativity is all about.
You are also doing Alia Bhatt’s next production, ‘Don’t Be Shy.’ How is the music shaping up?
It’s too early to speak on Alia’s film as I have just signed it. I have a bright, new lyricist in Saveri and it will be wonderful working with director Sreeti Mukerji, who is Ayan Mukerji’s cousin. She has an exceptional sense of music.
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