Ram Sampath, Composer: Stand Up For Yourself, Even If You Are Standing Up To A Bully

Ram Sampath, Composer: Stand Up For Yourself, Even If You Are Standing Up To A Bully

The night I decided to challenge the Roshans, I knew that life was going to be tough. After all, I was just another music composer. But I decided to take the Roshans to court for stealing my intellectual property – an ad jingle I had done for Sony Ericsson, which they used in their movie, Krazzy 4. Was I nervous? Hell yeah, who wouldn’t be?

News spread. Suddenly I was the bad guy trying to make money off the big guys. They had industry backing, I just had my conviction and Sona [Mohapatra, his wife] by my side. She held my hand through that phase and gave me the support that I needed to tell the world that even a small fry like me can take on the mighty guys.

 

The time I challenged them in court was also the time I was trying to break into Bollywood. Ninety per cent of the people told me that I was insane. That no one would want to work with me. And that happened. I was out of work – from my primary income, advertising and Bollywood. Yes, I was jobless; yes, I was broke; yes, I was angry; but no, I was not going to give up. Things happen for a reason. So I decided to treat my joblessness like a mini vacation.

I won my case, but rejection had become a part of life. People didn’t want to jinx their films by working with me. I scored and composed music for four films but all of them got shelved. I hit rock bottom. Then out of the blue, Delhi Belly happened. Abhinay [Deo] insisted that I compose music for his film. Delhi Belly was supposed to be a one-song film but once I read the script and knew that it had scope for more. I took a year to write music for it and when Aamir heard it, he loved it! That was the turning point for me.

Even today, I am not the most loved person in Bollywood. But I trust my work and my instincts. And you should too. Everyone will not love you, but you will be surrounded by people who care for you.

Scorecard
1 You have to learn to stand up for yourself because if you don’t, no one else will.
2 Have faith in the system and believe in yourself. Justice might take some time, but don’t lose patience.
3 Build a support system. Because there will be days when your resolve will break, that is when their resolve will hold you in good stead.
4 Find humour in everything. It makes life simple.
5 Don’t get angry. Get even!