Ajay Bijli and Amit Trivedi Talk ‘Beparwah’ Off ‘Azaad Collab’ Album

Count singer-composer Amit Trivedi as among those who were surprised to know that cinema company PVR Cinemas’ founder Ajay Bijli is also a musician. The pair have teamed up for the synth-inflected song “Beparwah” from Trivedi’s new album Azaad Collab.

Trivedi says over a joint video call with Bijli, “I was beautifully and pleasantly surprised that, ‘Wow, sir can sing as well.” As it turns out, Bijli – who was first part of rock band Modus Operandi in New Delhi and recently launched his band Random Order a few years ago – made it evident when he recorded “Beparwah” with Trivedi and his team in the studio.

Bijli says he too had Trivedi on his wish list to work with, noting how films like Aisha were distributed by PVR Cinemas in 2010 partly because of Trivedi’s work on the movie’s soundtrack, including “Gal Mitthi Mitthi,” “Shaam” and “Suno Aisha.” Bijli reveals in the call for the first time to Trivedi that one of the reasons that PVR came on board was the music. He adds, “Since then, I started following Amit’s music, and so I was always listening to all his albums – independent as well as movie-related.”

Beyond covers with Random Order, Bijli was looking to work on original music and reached out to Trivedi and asked if there were any songs that they could collaborate on. One of them was “Beparwah.” Trivedi says, “It’s amazing to see the fire and passion in him for music. He [Bijli] selected three songs and when he sang for the first time in the studio, I was blown away. He sang it like a pro. It felt like the song was made for him.” Trivedi was simultaneously working on Azaad Collab at the time, which led to including the song on the album.

Bijli appears as part of 22 artists collaborating with Trivedi on the 14-track album, ranging from Sunidhi Chauhan to Armaan Malik to Neha Kakkar, Nikhita Gandhi and Jubin Nautiyal, among others. Bijli chuckles modestly about the praise he’s just received from Trivedi. “Beparwah” features lyrics written by Swanand Kirkire and first came about as a song scratch. “With the help of digital audio workstations, I created a raw scratch structure and presented it to [Bijli], which he liked. Swanand sir wrote very beautifully on it, adding this twang to it. It resonated well with me and [Bijli] sir also. Once the scratch was in place, we recorded his vocals. Once the voice is in place, the production happens. That’s when the idea of the flute, drum and bass came in. I had a time who really helped me out,” Trivedi says.

Before Bijli knew it, he had a mixed and mastered version ready to hear. The 57-year-old tested it out on his kids, who are 32, 30 and 25 years old each. “The moment he [Trivedi] used the word ‘vibe,’ I knew the audience was going to be young. When I played it on the speakers, my kids just freaked out. They said, ‘Papa, what have you done to this song? What has Amit done to this song? We thought it would be introspective and reflective.’ I think Amit really created magic with the beat and the flute was incredible. It had a whole fusion feel.” The flute, performed by Paras Nath on “Beparwah,” is clearly as much in the spotlight as the rest of the artists on the song.

Out now, Trivedi managed to put out Azaad Collab alongside his film and OTT soundtrack projects, plus other commercial songs. It was a different time when he launched his label AT Azaad – during the pandemic – but it’s something he’s carrying on. He says, “It is very tough to balance both, but I’m managing somehow. I have a great team, touchwood. I have a good bunch of people helping me out in a lot of things, so ho jata hai [work gets done].”