Jackie Vanjari is a noted music producer who has been working in the industry for over three decades. He started his career working with the legendary R.D.Burman in movies like Ijaazat, Parinda, and 1942 A Love Story. Speaking about his musical background Jackie says,
“I belong to a family where music was our second language. My father Kamal Kant Vanjari was a Music Composer in Punjabi films. The environment in my household was completely musical .So Sangeet was my obvious choice! We can say it is in my genes.”
“My professional journey in music started at the age of 13 with legendary Music Director R.D. Burman ji. The first movie was Ijaazat. Then it went on with Parinda, 1942 Love Story and many more. Undoubtedly it was an incredible experience. Learning musical nuances from him was the greatest thing and the best way to start my career. I must mention here that my family was extremely supportive of my journey, Infact my home was my Gurukul. My father was strict when it came to Riyaz and discipline, there were times when he would punish me if I didn’t do my riyaz with sincerity. Today when I look back I’m grateful to him as he not just taught me music but also discipline and hard work that is required for this industry. My family encouraged me and stood behind me like a rock. I owe a lot to my family.
“After R.D.Burman, I also worked with Nusrat Fateh Ali ji, Amar Haldipur, Raju Singh, Jatin Lalit, Anand Milind, Nadeem Shravan, Anu Mallik, Vishal Bharadwaj, Pritam, Vishal Shekhar, Rahul Sharma, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Meet Bros and many more. And also worked in international projects and worked with legends like Kenny G, Deep Forest. I also did a Turkish film. I was blessed with the opportunity to be working among such legends. But the hardest challenge was my age. I was very young and I had to deliver. It was extremely important to give my best every single day, stay focused and perform.”
There is no doubt that technology has changed a lot of things in how to produce music, especially the emergence of Artificial Intelligence! So what’s your take on that?
Jackie says, “Definitely technology has made certain things easier and you can do more, but it is not a shortcut to creation. Your base has to be strong. The future of Music arrangement is the use of newer technology to create music. AI is a revolution in the music industry. There will be a definite rise in the use of AI. But I strongly feel Al generated music won’t be able to replace human creativity but yes it can be a useful tool.”