Meet the man who made Sunny Leone 'Laila'

Music-director and composer Anand Raj Anand, who has given hits like "Jalebi bai", "Ganpat", and "Ishq Samandar", makes songs after observing the body language of actors, but admits that if the melody and punch are not right, no one can make a song a hit.

"I observe the body language of the actors and make songs accordingly. I am making songs for everyone," Anand said.

"I have observed Ranbir Kapoor's body language and have made songs for him and for Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan too," he added.

His latest track "Laila" featuring Sunny Leone from the upcoming movie "Shootout At Wadala" has already been a hit on the charts.

"If melody and punch are not right, even a big actress cannot make it a hit. It's more about the song. If an actress is presented well and a chemistry is created, which becomes a hit commercially, then it is obviously an add-on," Anand told.

Talking about whether his recent number fits the story of "Shootout At Wadala", he said: "The term 'Laila' has been used since ages. Even in 'Jhumka gira re' era, item songs were used. The story is about goondas (goons), and I made a track based on that."



For Anand, "item numbers" as commercially hit songs.

"I don't understand why the term item numbers? Song that has a folk element and is commercially hit e.g. 'Jhumka gira re' and 'Laila' shouldn't be called 'item numbers'," said Anand.

He added: "For me, there are only two types of songs - one that people come to theatres to listen to, others that people listen to and leave theatres."

Anand, 49, started his career in 1996 with "Masoom". Though his song "Chhota bachcha jaan ke" from the film became an instant hit, Anand regrets not working with big names like other musicians.

"My first film was with a new crew and stars, by the grace of god it became a silver jubilee. But it really does make a difference if you start with a big banner, like Mani Ratnam in 'Roja' gave A.R. Rahman a chance. I worked on films that were offered to me, so I really missed not working with big banner films," he said.

Anand's passion for singing has inspired him to launch a band.

"I am planning to launch my own band with my brother Harry Anand called 'Basically Desi'. It will have hard-core commercially hit numbers," he said and added "basically all happy songs".