I CLEARLY recall what Trent Reznor quoted while he was backstage giving an interview with his fellow colleague and Oscar partner Atticus Ross after their unanimous win at the 83rd Academy Awards under the best original score category.

"Composer Hans Zimmer told me that in a lot of ways he hoped I'd win, because it's helped open up the field a bit for the texture of what film scores can be."

Yes, Tapan and Gaurav together make India's 'numero uno' electronic band, Midival Punditz.

They've been there, done that - toured the globe and have scored highly with their popularity the world over.

Theirs is exactly the story of how Pixar was formed. Just like Steve Jobs, Punditz collaborator Karsh Kale held their hand in 2000, and what followed in a year was India's first electronic music act to sign an international album deal.

I call it The Midival Punditz Story. In the second film for which they have written the background music, Dum Maaro Dum, the duo took time off, for a change, to talk about tunes, trance and their tale so far in the big, bad world of Indian films.

Over the years they've been letting the music flow in a non-linear fashion instead of meticulously piecing together a structured song.

A good analogy would be dumping a box of Lego on the floor and building whatever came to mind rather than following instructions.

If you are a first-timer, you may step into their musical evolution feeling surprised, but I bet you will walk out feeling impressed.

Devansh Patel: You guys feel blessed for scoring the background score for a film like Dum Maaro Dum?

Midival Punditz: We've been going to Goa for the last 12 years and we've understood the dynamics of Goa in terms of the party culture. We've spent so much time there.

We go there every year, and to be a part of Dum Maaro Dum, which is shot there, is almost like a dream come true as a mainstream project.

DP: Goa with its buzzing music has to be the USP of a film like this. Do you think this will be a giant leap into the Hindi film scene?

MP: Our debut was for the film Karthik Calling Karthik, where we did the background score. But Dum Maaro Dum is grander. This film will definitely put our names along with the background scoring people in the country.

This film will judge our work in a wider spectrum of things. I hope our background score brings a bit of awareness into the newness of what we've tried to do with it.

DP: So who are you from the Midival Punditz? Trent or Atticus?

MP: You can call me Trent Reznor (laughs). The Social Network OST has become my 'flight soundtrack'. Every time I board a flight, I have to put that on. They have redefined OST in a way. I am a huge fan of The Social Network and it's OST.

DP: Will India ever adapt to the background score like Hollywood films do, and inspire?

MP: India is more a song and dance routine. But there is one person who started a trend in the OST more than any Bollywood film, and that is Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman.

DP: And what about AR Rahman? MP: When he scored films like Bombay and Roja, he gave equal importance to the songs of those films and the background scores.

The Bombay theme is quite memorable. Then after many years, music duo Salim Sulaiman got the standards up in background scores.

I hope Dum Maaro Dum takes the school of thought further, thanks to the visionary director we had the pleasure of working with, Rohan Sippy.

DP: Have you come up with your own sounds while scoring Dum Maaro Dum?

MP: We have done an adaptation of the original theme and guitars used in the yesteryear song Dum Maaro Dum. We have modified it and made it more current.

For this film we created our own custom library of different sounds of the eighties and of today. We never wanted it to sound like old age but there was a lot of scope, of twisting it a bit and making it as a fusion of new and old.

DP: What will stand out in Dum Maaro Dum's background score?

MP: There are one or two parts in the film, or I should say one or two characters, that will stand out because of its themes. Those themes keep getting repeated in the film as the character gets repeated.

We've heard it so many times that when the character comes on screen, we know something should happen.

Dum Maaro Dum's OST is its USP.