/> "If I wasn't a filmmaker I would've been a music composer (which I still am). And if I hadn't been so interested in music I'd have been a cricketer. In fact for a long time in my younger days, cricket remained my single biggest passion, even more so than cinema or music.

I spent hours honing my skills in the game. And was quite sure that one day I'd be playing out there for our country. In fact I've played cricket matches at the state level. But then music took over because my father was a musician.

Blood runs thicker than cricket, I guess. I left my home town Meerut for the land of dreams to be a music director. But I continued to be passionate about cricket. One of the things that brought me close to my musical idol Lataji was our mutual passion for cricket.

I remember while composing those melodies like Ae hawa, Paani paani re, Tum gaye sab gaya, Geela geela pani and Chai chap chai chapaak chai we'd spend hours talking about the game. She's really into the game, and I'd often be stumped more by her knowledge of cricket than her singing.

Gradually I got immersed in my music. Though Maachis became a super-hit ( Chappa chappa charkha and Paani paani re are played to this day) my unique historically unverifiable style of composition didn't get me far, although I get immense support from stalwarts like Gulzar Saab and Lataji.

That's when my love for filmmaking surfaced in a big way. I took a tentative step into cinema with Makdee which had Shabana Azmi as a witch. Then Maqbool happened. There was no looking back. But at heart I still remain a musician. Shall I be honest with you?

I became a filmmaker only so that I could employ myself as a music composer. The bidi song in Omkara is playing everywhere. I remember how I'd record incidental music on my mobile phone while hunting locations for Omkara in the interiors of Maharashtra.

Am I that passionate about filmmaking?

I am. Today my calling card proudly reads 'Film Director'. But I remain a music composer at heart. Cricket? I still make time to play whenever I can, though obviously not that regularly. Today when I see my son Aasman being equally passionate about cricket and music I wonder if he'll finally end up becoming a filmmaker like me!"