#KetchupTalks: "I love working with people who are actively trying to break molds and shift perception," Prateek Rajagopal

In this conversation, Prateek Rajagopal talks about collaboration, creative control, and why he sees the background score as more than just support for what’s on screen.

For the longest time, when we spoke about film music in India, the focus almost always stayed on songs. Soundtracks would trend, playlists would grow, and chartbusters would define a film’s recall value. The background score, even though it influenced tension, pace and emotion just as strongly, rarely received the same kind of attention outside industry circles. But that conversation is slowly opening up. More directors today are thinking intensely about the sonic identity of their films, and more composers are treating the score as something that deserves its own space and authorship. At the same time, becoming a composer does not follow one fixed route. Some begin in independent music, some in advertising, some in live performance, and many move between industries before finding their true calling. What matters more now is how these varied experiences influence the way a composer thinks about narrative. 

Prateek Rajagopal’s career reflects this. He began in India’s underground music circuit, working in extreme and experimental genres, before going on to formally study film scoring in Los Angeles and contribute to large international productions, including Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Trolls: Band Together, Universal Pictures’ HIM, and A24’s Eddington. Along the way, he worked alongside names such as Ludwig Göransson, Bobby Krlic,Lizzo, and Eric André, gaining experience within large-scale studio systems while continuing to build his own distinct musical voice. Now, as he composes for Bejoy Nambiar’s upcoming film Tu Yaa Mainalong with a Telugu-language feature, he brings together technical training, global exposure and a strong independent music foundation. In this conversation, he talks about his recent projects, the choices that influenced his work, and how he views background scoring as a deliberate and constructed part of storytelling.

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Here's what he had to share!

What was it like stepping into Tu Yaa Main as part of the core creative team? How would you describe your working dynamic with Bejoy Nambiar?

It was a great experience and very collaborative. Bejoy and I worked on the entire score remotely since I’m based in LA, which was interesting. We made it work through voice notes, Zoom calls, and a lot of file sharing. There was a constant back-and-forth. He was very open to ideas, and that made the process feel very fluid.

You’re entering Indian cinema at a time when you’ve already worked on major international projects. Does this feel like expansion, return, or reinvention?

It feels more like expansion and reinvention. I spent a good number of years in Mumbai in the underground music scene, so coming back into the Indian space feels intentional, but with a completely fresh lens. This time, it’s on a more commercial platform, which makes it exciting.

At KOST AI, you’re creating music that responds to environments rather than playing linearly. How does that change the way you think about control as a composer?

It makes the possibilities feel endless. VR is so spherical. You’re building worlds instead of cues. It forces me to reinvent how I approach music and get really creative about space, immersion, and interaction.

Do you see interactive scoring as the future of storytelling, or as a parallel medium that will coexist with film?

It’s been around for a while. Video games were really the beginning of interactive storytelling in a mainstream way, and now we’re expanding further into VR and XR. I don’t think it replaces film. I think it exists alongside it. It’s just another powerful way to experience storytelling.

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For any projects, how much of your personal taste do you protect, and how much do you adapt depending on the project?

Ideally, I’d love to have creative freedom and lean fully into my personal taste. I’m very particular about my artistic perspective, and I’m confident that when given that freedom, I can elevate a project in a meaningful way. That said, there’s real value in adapting and collaborating, even with non-musicians. Directors and producers can push you in directions you wouldn’t naturally go, and oftentimes that opens up something far more interesting than what you would have done alone.

Technology has dramatically changed the tools available to composers. According to you, has it changed the art itself?

It definitely has. Think about pop music before computers. It was all musicians in a room. Now the tools are completely different. As artists, we’re constantly evolving with technology. The art shifts because the tools shift. That’s inevitable.

You’re also attached to an upcoming Telugu-language feature produced by Jahnavi Dasari. Is the sonic language of that project radically different from Tu Yaa Main?

They’re both thrillers, but the palettes are radically different. The Telugu film has a much wider sonic palette, and the stories are poles apart, so the music demanded a complete switch-up. That score is wild. It pushed me in a totally different direction.

What kind of collaborations or projects are you actively seeking right now?

I’m drawn to creatives who are interesting and boundary-pushing, but also radical in their approach. I love working with people who are actively trying to break molds and shift perception, especially commercially. That’s where the most exciting work happens.

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