The advertising world’s loss is music’s gain: Shekhar Ravjiani started his career composing jingles in the 1990s but moved into the movies after teaming up with childhood friend Vishal Dadlani—then best known as the leader of hard rock band Pentagram—to form the music-director duo Vishal-Shekhar. Right from their debut release, the soundtrack to 1999’s Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi, the pair brought a fresh perspective to Hindi film music which they infused with their Western-influenced sensibilities. In their long career, they’ve delivered dozens of commercially successful and groundbreaking OSTs including Jhankaar Beats (2003), Bluffmaster (2005), Om Shanti Om (2007), Dostana (2008), Chennai Express (2013) and Pathaan (2023), establishing themselves among the top contemporary composers in Bollywood. While Dadlani is often seen as the more vocal of the two, Ravjiani has been quietly racking up his own achievements. They include becoming a judge on the reality TV singing contest Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (in which he had previously been a competitor); making his acting debut in the 2016 hit Neerja; and launching a solo singing career through which he has explored both Indian regional language and spiritual music. But it’s the launch of his own record label, Garuudaa Music, in early 2023 that’s been perhaps the most personally satisfying. Though he and Dadlani have always been adept at giving voice to film-makers’ visions, Ravjiani says he’s finally making the music he’s always wanted to make with the label, through which he works with both upcoming and established artists—and simultaneously fulfils and relishes in his roles of singer, composer and mentor.