Shantanu Moitra (born 22 January 1968) is an Indian
score composer
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...
,
musician and
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
who has composed songs for the
Hindi film industry, and is most known for his scores in the films ''
Parineeta'' (2005), ''
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi
''Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'' (A Thousand Wishes Like This) is an Indian political drama film made by director Sudhir Mishra in 2003 but released in 2005. Set against the backdrop of the Indian Emergency, the movie tells the story of three young ...
'' (2005), ''
Lage Raho Munnabhai'' (2006) and ''
3 Idiots
''3 Idiots'' (stylized as ''3 idiots'') is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, co-written by Abhijat Joshi and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Adapted loosely from Ch ...
'' (2009), and private albums, ''Mann ke Manjeere'' and ''Ab ke Saawan'' sung by
Shubha Mudgal. In 2014, he received the
National Film Award for Best Music Direction
The National Film Award for Best Music Direction (the Silver Lotus Award) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards by the Directorate of Film Festivals to a musician who has composed the best score for films produced within th ...
(Background Score) for ''
Na Bangaaru Talli''.
Early life and education
Shantanu was born in Lucknow, where his father came from a
Bengali musical family. He was very young when he moved to
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
with his family, where initially he lived in
Patel Nagar in
West Delhi
West Delhi is one of the 11 administrative districts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India. Administratively, the district is divided into three subdivisions, Patel Nagar, Rajouri Garden and Punjabi Bagh.
West Delhi is bound by th ...
, and studied at
Springdales School, Pusa Road. There, he was the leader and singer of a band, and in 1982, the band hosted the school's first rock show. "What was even better was receiving an award in school for my contribution to music at a time when my school, Springdales in Delhi, didn't usually give awards for music. When I look back now, I think the award instilled huge confidence in me," he said.
They also received musical training from urban-folk singer, Sushmit Bose, a Springdales alumnus, who would occasionally drop in and teach them. Later he moved to
Chittaranjan Park in
South Delhi
South Delhi is an administrative district of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India with its headquarters in Saket. Administratively, the district is divided into three subdivisions, Saket, Hauz Khas, and Mehrauli. It is bounded by t ...
.
He studied at
Deshbandhu College, Kalkaji,
Delhi University and has a degree in Economics.
[Thank an ad crisis for Parineeta's music]
Rediff.com, 9 June 2005.
Career
Moitra started his career as a client servicing executive at an ad agency, while music remained a hobby. He started composing music for advertising jingles accidentally, when he was asked to compose a jingle at the last minute by Pradeep Sarkar
Pradeep Sarkar (born 30 April 1955) is a writer and director who works in Bollywood. He began his career with Vinod Chopra Productions, the production company of director and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
Personal life
From a young boy lis ...
, then the Creative Head of the agency. The jingle was "Bole mere lips. I love Uncle Chipps" for the chips brand Uncle Chipps, which became an instant hit. He later composed several jingles for Pradeep Sarkar, and several advertising brands.[Shantanu Moitra on remixes]
IndiaFM
Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000.
The website provides ...
, 10 August 2006.
This led to composing music for Indipop albums that were hits including ''Ab ke Saawan'', ''Mann ke Manjeere: an album of women's dreams for Breakthrough'', and ''Sapna Dekha Hai Maine'' (2003) for Shubha Mudgal.
Moitra moved to Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
in 2002, when he started working for Sudhir Mishra
Sudhir Mishra (born 22 January 1959) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for directing the films '' Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'', '' Dharavi'' and '' Chameli''.
Mishra has had a 30-year career, with his work recognised by the Gover ...
's ''Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi
''Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'' (A Thousand Wishes Like This) is an Indian political drama film made by director Sudhir Mishra in 2003 but released in 2005. Set against the backdrop of the Indian Emergency, the movie tells the story of three young ...
'', his first signed film. He soon formed a team with lyricist Swanand Kirkire
Swanand Kirkire ( Marathi: स्वानंद किरकिरे) (born 29 April 1972) is an Indian lyricist, playback singer, writer, assistant director, actor and dialogue writer, both in television with Marathi and Hindi films.
Kirkire ...
, starting with the song "Bawara Mann..". Even before ''Parineeta'' was made, he had created a song called ''Raath Hamari To'', sung by Chitra, which Vidhu Vinod Chopra the producer of ''Parineeta heard'', and subsequently on his recommendation, he went on do his first Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
project- '' Parineeta'' (2005), directed by Pradeep Sarkar
Pradeep Sarkar (born 30 April 1955) is a writer and director who works in Bollywood. He began his career with Vinod Chopra Productions, the production company of director and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
Personal life
From a young boy lis ...
.[Bohemian Rhapsody: Parineeta’s success hasn’t changed music composer Shantanu Moitra’s pace or lifestyle]
Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...
, 7 August 2005.
Moitra gained recognition with his music in ''Parineeta'' (2005). His music was critically acclaimed and he received a nomination for the Filmfare Best Music Director Award
The Filmfare Best Music Album Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to the best composer/arranger of a soundtrack. This category was first presented in 1954. Naushad Ali was the fir ...
. That same year he won the Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent
The Filmfare R. D. Burman Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. Named in honour of music director R. D. Burman, the award recognises new and upcoming talent in the Bollywood music ind ...
. In 2009, he composed the score for his first Bengali film, '' Antaheen''.
He was also a judge for two seasons of ''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Bangla
''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa'' is a Bengali language singing reality show which airs on Zee Bangla. At very beginning it was hosted by actor Jisshu Sengupta from 2012 to 2019. The show is currently hosted by Abir Chatterjee
Abir Chatterjee (born 18 No ...
'', a regional spinoff of the show ''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa
''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa'' is an Indian Hindi-language reality singing television show. It started airing on Zee TV in 1995 as ''Sa Re Ga Ma''. It is the oldest running game show in India as well as the oldest show on private television in India. The ...
''.
He also wrote the book ''Ferari Mon - Memories by Santanu Moitra'' in Bengali, published by Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, Dey's Publishing.
Shantanu also undertook a 100-day journey across the Himalayas in 2016 along with Dhritiman Mukherjee which was documented and published on YouTube called “100 days in Himalayas” produced by Roundglass.
Discography
As a music director
As a playback singer
As a background score composer
Awards
; National Film Awards
*National Film Award for Best Music Direction
The National Film Award for Best Music Direction (the Silver Lotus Award) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards by the Directorate of Film Festivals to a musician who has composed the best score for films produced within th ...
(Background Score) - Na Bangaaru Talli (2013)
; Filmfare Awards
*Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent
The Filmfare R. D. Burman Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. Named in honour of music director R. D. Burman, the award recognises new and upcoming talent in the Bollywood music ind ...
– '' Parineeta''(2006)
;Mirchi Music Awards
''Mirchi Music Awards'' are presented annually by ''Radio Mirchi'' to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film music industry of India. The awards, given in seventeen different categories, were in ...
* Background Score of the Year - ''Madras Cafe
''Madras Cafe'' is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language political action thriller film directed by Shoojit Sircar and starring John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri with newcomer Raashi Khanna in lead roles. The film is set in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ...
'' (2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
)
References
External links
Shantanu Moitra, official website
*
Shantanu Moitra news article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moitra, Shantanu
1968 births
Living people
Bengali Hindus
Musicians from Lucknow
Delhi University alumni
Indian pop composers
Filmfare Awards winners
Hindi film score composers
Jingle composers
20th-century Indian composers
Best Background Score National Film Award winners
Indian male film score composers
20th-century male musicians