Behind the sound: C. Girinandh on achieving sonic authenticity for ‘The Greatest Rivalry’

Mumbai  (The Uttam Hindu): Music composer C. Girinandh, who has scored the music for the streaming documentary, ‘The Greatest Rivalry: India vs Pakistan’, has shared that to bring in the authenticity to the soundtrack, he blended traditional Indian and Pakistani instruments like rabab, bansuri, sitar and Indian rhythms with hybrid electronic music.

‘The Greatest Rivalry: India vs Pakistan’ explores the historical, cultural, and emotional dimensions of one of the most intense rivalries in sports and beyond. For C. Girinandh, it was a “fanboy moment” when he got the opportunity to score the music for the series. Talking about the creative process, he said, “The creative process was organic, and I decided to have a sound palette that could portray common musical elements across India and Pakistan. My approach was from an audience perspective, and I aimed to sonically express the players' mentality, aggression, sportsmanship, bond, and relations between the two countries”.

He shared that it was a conscious decision to maintain an honest, neutral approach while designing the music for the Netflix documentary. He said, “There are many interesting highpoints and matchups between legendary players. Having grown up watching these historic battles, it was a challenge to take the audience back in time, make them feel nostalgic (specifically, the 1999-2005 Indo-Pak era), and capture the energy in the stadiums, among fans and players”. He further mentioned, “This series had a lot of scope for experimentation and capturing live sounds and instruments. As we designed our sound palette, we decided to go with several ethnic live instruments (rabab, oud, bansuri, sitar, Indian rhythms) and give a contemporary world music touch by fusing them with hybrid electronic sounds”.

The composer is also the founder of the band ‘Oxygen’. For the streaming documentary, C. Girinandh worked in tandem with his bandmates. Talking about the same, he said, “With Oxygen, we've composed and performed instrumental music incorporating genres from across the world. This series had a lot of scope for experimentation. It's always great to work with my bandmates, as each one brings a unique perspective. We captured different instruments deeply rooted in India and Pakistan, using ethnic instruments, a big drum ensemble, horn and strings section to create the sounds of the stadium and make it sound epic. You can expect a range of diverse sounds in this docu-series”.

Sharing his experience of working with Netflix, he said, “Working with Netflix was a great experience, as they truly understand and respect the creative space. They gave me the time and freedom to explore and deliver to my fullest potential without compromise. They're very supportive and extract the best from your work. From the discussion stage, our directors, Chandradev Bhagat and Payal, were very supportive, and our musical sensibilities aligned well”.

He continued, “I am honored to be a part of this monumental project. The rivalry between India and Pakistan is profound and multifaceted, and I hope my music can convey the passion and intensity that surrounds it”. Talking about his upcoming project, he shared, “My next release will be an immersive format album, ‘Metagen’ with my band Oxygen”. “I've also collaborated with singer Hariharan, Vijay Prakash, and actor Vikram as part of my upcoming indie song releases”, he added.