WHISTLING WOODS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MUSIC HOSTED STALWART COMPOSER, ATUL RANINGA FOR AN EXCLUSIVE MASTERCLASS SESSION

Mumbai, March 10, 2022: Whistling Woods International (WWI) School of Music hosted an exclusive music masterclass with Atul Raninga, a renowned Music Director and Film Score Composer with a rich experience of over 2 decades in the film industry.

Through the course of this interactive masterclass, the guest discussed the creative process related to sound, design and background score together and also provided valuable insights on background score, which was moderated by Mandar Deshpande, Programme-in-Charge, along with Mithilesh Patankar, Faculty of WWI School of Music. Atul Raninga shared his ideologies and perceptions about his approach regarding the entire process of creating a background score.

The session commenced with Atul Raninga showing some of his work over a scene from a movie. He explained how he started the process of scoring by putting the right sounds to highlight the perfect emotional aspect of cinema. The guest also emphasised on the difference of using different sounds and ideas for different mediums like cinema, OTT, TV and Drama.
Sharing thoughts on background music in films, Atul Raninga asserted that comprehensively the background should always sound in waves and not in straight lines. Elaborating on how to choose soundscaping for a particular film, Atul Raninga stated, “The feel of a film dictates the kind of background score that is required. The vibe of the film decides whether the music would be orchestral, electronic or more of acoustic sound.” Winner of various prestigious awards like the IIFA and IRAA Award, Atul Raninga revealed that music composers in India like to offer variety in background music by mixing different genres of music together.

Imparting knowledge on the process applied for composing music for plays that involves just a screenplay and no visuals, Atul Raninga claimed that it’s a to and fro exercise. It involves being present during rehearsals and taking notes on timings that require background scores and changeovers. He has designed music for different plays in Marathi and Hindi, Moghul-E-Azam being the most celebrated and eminent. Addressing the challenges involved to sustain creativity in composing music, Atul Raninga divulged that the trick lies in providing the director with several options.
Having composed background scores for some of the iconic films like PK, 3 Idiots, and Sanju, along with well-known Music Composer, Sanjay Wandrekar, Atul Raninga reminisced about the tough time he had composing music for the delivery scene of 3 Idiots as there were so many mixed emotions to be taken into account. Summarising his career, Atul Raninga concluded that his erstwhile experience in Indian and Western classical, live shows and ghazals proved to be of immense help and has shaped his career considerably.

Commending about Whistling Woods International, Atul Raninga said, “It is a beautiful Institute with so many students studying in different departments. And I believe we’ll continue to see many big stars, professionals and popular artists graduating from this Institute.”