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Music composer Shashwat Sachdev’s responses are measured—as though he’s analysing if his words justify the creative process of bringing the soundtrack of Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh to life. He tackles questions with a refreshing intuitiveness, and yet, ever so often, he defeatedly laments, “I don’t know how to explain music with words. Attempting to do so is like describing a colour to a person who has never seen that shade.
”A still from the filmYet, asked to detail what went behind crafting the music of the Akshay Kumar-starrer that is based on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Sachdev seems welcoming when drawing us into his world. “I started my career with a film called Phillauri [2017, starring Anushka Sharma and Diljit Dosanjh], which also [had a] chapter on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Evidently, I didn’t want to repeat the sonic palette of that film.
In fact, even then, I didn’t want the music to be dominated by Punjabi classic sounds, because I wanted to depict it in a different way. I did that then with the song called Sahiba. Similarly, the music of Kesari 2 is based on melodies that are classical, but they sound like melodies that fit 2025,” he says.
Abhishek ChandranAn innocuous assumption would lead us to believe that Sachdev would, at the very least, sample past tunes from films based on the massacre to serve as inspiration. But the composer dismisses the suggestion almost immediately. Stating that the 1919 event that led to the death of several hundred individuals gave rise to a “new India”, Sachdeva wanted his music to support the wave of new ideas taking root in the country’s fighters.
“Indians were fighting for what was theirs, and a revolution was underway. These people discover a new voice, and the protagonists of our film depict that. I advised Karan [Johar, producer] that if the fighters are discovering the voices of new India, we should write music that defines that aspect.
So, the main theme of [our protagonist], C Sankaran Nair, is hip-hop and modern music. In a courtroom [scene] that aims to showcase the war between India and the British people, we’ve used music to reflect a war. But the tunes are not [reminiscent of] films showcasing scenes of weaponry.
They aim to reflect the characters’ [internal turmoil]. When the characters speak, you can hear a war-like ballad in the score. When they enter the courtroom and present their arguments, the ballad reflects loss.
”The National Film Awardwinner may have many accolades to his name, yet, he describes his experiences of working on this venture with a giddy joy. “I was fortunate to create the main piece with Padma Bhushan awardee Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, whom I’ve grown up listening to. He sang a duet with Jubin Nautiyal.
There’s another rap song with King,” he says, adding that joining hands with Sonu Nigam for the first time, as well as collaborating with lyricist Irshad Kamil, were among the highlights of his experience of working on the movie that will be released on April 18.Akshay Kumar in Kesari Chapter 2About Kesari Chapter 2Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh is a courtroom drama directed by Karan Singh Tyagi and produced by Dharma Productions, Leo Media Collective, and Cape of Good Films. The spiritual sequel to Kesari is based on the book, The Case that Shook the Empire, by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat.
It revolves around C Sankaran Nair, a lawyer and former President of the Indian National Congress, who fought to unveil the truth behind the massacre. The film also stars R Madhavan and Ananya Panday. The first film, also starring Akshay Kumar, told the true story of the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi, where 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment bravely defended a fort against 10,000 Afghan tribesmen.
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