How singer Shilpa Rao accidentally launched Amit Trivedi into a film music career

Music composer Amit Trivedi never planned to write songs for movies until singer Shilpa Rao played his independent tracks for filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. At the time, Kashyap was busy making a modern version of Devdas called Dev D, starring Abhay Deol, and wanted twelve to fifteen songs for the project. Trivedi spent six months writing six songs because he was also busy with advertising work. When Rao pushed him to share an update, they arranged a second meeting at Trivedi's studio, where Kashyap arrived alongside Vikas Bahl. Trivedi, who was twenty-six or twenty-seven years old at the time and had never seen any version of Devdas, quickly watched both the 1955 Dilip Kumar film and the 2002 Shah Rukh Khan film to understand the story. He later played his completed tracks, fearing harsh criticism, but the filmmakers liked every single song.

Script Progress

Following that successful meeting, the team called Trivedi for a story narration, which led him to compose two more tracks titled 'Saali Khushi' and 'Pardesi'. After listening to these songs, Kashyap actually changed parts of the script to match the music. However, production hit a roadblock when producer Ronnie Screwvala lost interest in making Dev D, putting the entire project on hold. Kashyap advised Trivedi to pause his work on that film and instead compose for Aamir, a project directed by Raj Kumar Gupta and produced by Kashyap himself. That arrangement led to Aamir starring Rajeev Khandelwal releasing first in 2008, making it Trivedi's official debut even though Dev D was the very first movie he worked on. Dev D eventually hit theatres eight months later, and the film is now set for a re-release on April 24, 2026.

Context

Film music in India is often developed alongside the script, allowing songs to shape character arcs and narrative pacing rather than just serving as background tracks. Directors like Anurag Kashyap are known for using independent musicians to bring fresh sounds to mainstream cinema, bypassing traditional commercial routes. Projects frequently face production delays or temporary holds when producers reassess financial risks, which can shuffle release orders and change how artists make their debut in the industry.