There are bound to be fireworks on the big screen when filmmaker Anurag Basu and music composer Pritam join forces. Having already created magic in the musical Life in a Metro, 18 years ago, fans were ecstatic on their return with the film's spiritual successor Metro In Dino.
An ensemble cast featuring Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta, Konkona Sen Sharma, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, Ali Fazal, and Fatima Sana Shaikh, and a fresh bunch of songs to swoon to - Metro In Dino has once again been a musical extravaganza.
In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, Pritam talks about his long association with Anurag Basu, and when asked about the pressure of creating an album for an already hit franchise, he says, "I am always stressed!"
On Anurag Basu Calling Pritam His Alter-Ego
Anurag Basu and Pritam first collaborated for the 2006 romantic thriller Gangster, led by Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, and Shiney Ahuja. Then came Life in a Metro in 2007, which flipped the ballgame for them completely.
It's been more than a decade, and somehow, Pritam has become an inseparable part of Anurag Basu's films.
A pic on X
Pritam reacts to the 'alter-ego' tag as he says, "We are always trying to change things around. He keeps adding and subtracting things from his movies, and I do the same thing with the music. Our tastes are similar. He's younger than me by age, but much wiser."
Speaking of arguments and creative differences, Pritam adds," I trust him blindly. Whatever he's saying, I know it is right. I think it's the same vice versa. He agrees with me when he believes I am right. If I'm doing something in a flow, he will never ask me to stop. He might explode if some delivery timelines don't match. It has happened once in Metro, Ludo was in COVID, and there was no time to explode. They were in Barfi too."
Life In A Metro Vs Metro In Dino
With songs like In Dino, Alvida, O Meri Jaan, Baatein Kuch Ankahee Si - the Life in a Metro album was one of the rare gems where every song stood out.
But Pritam breaks that reverie as he says that the album only found love over the years. It had not landed when it was released back then. Not compared to the cult status it gained over the years.
Pritam says, "Life in a Metro music also did not land as such. The album found love over the years. At that time, when it came, a rock album in a Hindi film milieu was a very odd thing. The full album had traces of Rock music. Initially, it was a shock. In Dino was more of a Hindi song, so it was accepted faster. But O Meri Jaan, Rishtey, and then Alvida became popular after 7-8 years of their release. It stayed in college circuits, but popularity came much later."
"Also, Life in a Metro and Metro in Dino are vastly different. The format is the same, sure, but that's about it. It is a little unfair to compare the two films even musically because, like I mentioned, the Life in a Metro album found an audience much later."
Metro In Dino - Ghazal With A Touch Of Pop
While Life in a Metro was all about rock, Metro in Dino was all about experimenting with the beauty of Ghazals.
Further elaborating on why the two films and Pritam's approach to the music were different, the music composer shares, "Metro In Dino, we did not go much into rock, it's overdone now. We thought of incorporating Ghazals in a rock format. This idea I had for Barfi! and Ludo too - but we did not use them. We wanted to use ghazal in a rock or pop format. So we went scouring through a lot of ghazals, which is a big miss. We have a misconception that ghazals are songs, but it's the lyrics. It's a collection of shers, it is poetry, and I can interpret it however I want."
"Zamaane Lage is in a pop format, I made a dark blue format of it. I broke the format a little. The whole idea was to break the typical semi-classical format. If an Indie guy like Anuv Jain starts using ghazals, because the lyrics are incredible, it will be great," he concludes.
Aditya Roy Kapur Channelling Rahul Jaykar From Aashiqui 2
One of the biggest revelations at the music launch event of Metro in Dino was Aditya Roy Kapur singing a version of Ishq Ya Tharak from the film.
Aditya Roy Kapur makes his debut as a singer with “Ishq Ya Tharak”, loved the lyrics lol 😂 pehle mujhe Ghost kiya phir mujhe toast kiya! #MetroInDino pic.twitter.com/oJyEJUUAo8
— Samina Shaikh 🇮🇳 (@saminaUFshaikh) June 23, 2025
Fans could not help but think of his character Rahul Jaykar from Aashiqui 2, where he played the role of a musician.
Pritam agrees as he says, "Aditya is a damn good singer. That whole concept was made for the launch of the album. It's not in the movie, and it's not in the album either. Aditya has a more qawwali version of Ishq ya Tharak in the song. He has a very sweet voice. What happens is that the advantage of an actor singing is that he knows exactly how to emote well, and that worked for Aditya."
"Jagga Jasoos Needed Two More Months"
Anurag Basu's Jagga Jaasoos was ahead of its time, so say many. Probably why it did not find its audience.
Pritam says, "I love Jagga Jasoos. I hope they re-release it and it is rediscovered. It was brilliant. That film needed two more months. It is the best film I have worked in."
On War 2
Pritam says he had a blast in Ayan Mukerji's Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. And now the duo are back in War 2. However, the music composer is not working on the entire film.
He says, "Yash Raj has a format of two songs, and I'm doing just that. But I'm not the kind of person who likes the two-song format. I have decided I won't do movies if I'm not doing the full soundscape. I'm very clear about that. I have to enjoy what I'm doing, and it will be one movie at a time."
On Working With Karan Johar
While most people think of Anurag Basu as soon as Pritam comes into the mix, other directors have done extensive work with him, too.
One of them is Karan Johar, who worked with Pritam in one of his biggest hits - Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.
Recalling his first meeting with Karan for the film, Pritam says, "First day, Karan narrated the movie was the first day we were going to meet Karan. I made a collection of seven songs. Out of that, Channa Mereya, Alizeh and Bulleya got locked in that meeting only. I got psyched."
To say the least, Pritam's journey has been nothing short of extraordinary at the movies. It's been 20 years, and after working with some of the finest filmmakers in the business, he reiterates that he wants to prioritise what works for him and what doesn't. Till then, we have War 2 to look forward to as we continue to play Metro In Dino songs on loop.
