'You Have To Be Spiritually In Sync With It': 'Hanuman Ansh' Music Director Dhirendra Mulkalwar On ‘Siyavar Ramchandra Ki Jai’

For Dhirendra Mulkalwar, Hanuman Ansh is more than his first solo film as a music director after 20 years in the industry — it is the realisation of a dream he carried to Mumbai. Having started with radio, demos, advertisements and jingles before working as a music producer on films such as Uri: The Surgical Strike and Article 15, Mulkalwar says seeing his name on the big screen, especially for a film based on Neem Karoli Baba and Lord Hanuman, feels surreal. “It has always been my dream to see my name on the big screen as a music composer. I came to Mumbai with this dream,” he says.

His journey has included more than 500 jingles, documentaries, short films and other projects. But the spiritual nature of Hanuman Ansh brought with it a different kind of responsibility. “You have to be spiritually in sync with it. You have to be spiritually inclined for your bhakti and honesty to come through your music,” he says.

His personal connection with Neem Karoli Baba helped him approach the film with greater sincerity. “Whenever I got stuck on a musical piece or an idea, I would think about Baba ji, and sometimes the melody would just come to me. It felt like it was flowing through me.”

Authenticity was equally important, particularly because the story is set in the pre-Independence era and is rooted in a particular region. Mulkalwar incorporated folk instruments, collaborated with folk artists and used regional dialects in the lyrics.

The film was also made under tight financial constraints, forcing him to turn his home into a recording studio. “I had to take on multiple roles — I was the recording engineer, editor and even worked on the mixing and pre-mixes of the background score,” he says. Yet, he refused to compromise on the sound, relying on friends who stepped in to help because they believed in both him and the spiritual subject.

His own musical vocabulary, meanwhile, was shaped much before he entered Mumbai. Growing up in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, surrounded by forests and Gond tribal communities, Mulkalwar absorbed folk traditions from his surroundings. “I would go into the forests and simply listen and observe the sounds around me. I think those experiences became a very important part of my musical vocabulary,” he says, also recalling the influence of Jhadipatti theatre.

His journey, however, was far from linear. Despite contributing to acclaimed projects and working on a film, Tuesday, which featured at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, there were moments when the dream of becoming a composer seemed distant.

“Just about a year before this film, I almost considered leaving Mumbai and rethinking my direction,” he reveals. Some projects he was signed on for never got made, while on others he was replaced because of production decisions. But the dream of seeing his name as a composer kept him going.

That perseverance has now culminated in ‘Siyavar Ramchandra Ki Jai’, a track that was never actually intended to be a song. The piece originated in a scene where revolutionary Dr RN Bhosale hides from the British and Neem Karoli Baba helps disguise him as a sanyasi. The music had to simultaneously convey patriotism and devotion.

After initial attempts did not work, Mulkalwar switched off the visuals and concentrated solely on the emotion. “I created an Indian rhythm pattern, and while working on it, I automatically started singing, ‘Sita Ram, Sita Ram.’ That’s how the chorus of the song came about.”

Initially conceived as background music, the track eventually became a full-fledged song after the team saw its impact and it was used in the trailer. Mulkalwar then brought in his friend Shantanu, who had sung the original chorus, to help with the lyrics and final rendition.

For Mulkalwar, background music remains “the second language of a film”, capable of communicating emotion even when the spoken language is not understood. He used ragas, classical vocals, sitar and folk elements in Hanuman Ansh, ensuring that the music remained rooted in Indian traditions while still delivering a cinematic experience.

Now, as the film and its music find resonance with younger audiences through reels, Mulkalwar believes authenticity is the key. “I think younger audiences connect with honesty,” he says, pointing out that Neem Karoli Baba’s appeal cuts across age, region, caste, religion and nationality.

Looking ahead, he does not want the success of a devotional track to define him. “I don’t want to restrict myself to one particular image or genre. I want to keep exploring.”

From Indian classical and folk music to Western classical, EDM, rock, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson and film-score giants such as Ennio Morricone, Hans Zimmer and John Williams, his influences are wide-ranging. He also hopes to work more closely with folk and tribal artists, traditions he feels deeply connected to. “I want to explore myself even further. I want to keep exploring my musicality and, hopefully, surprise myself every day,” he says.