"Lyrics and songs are like body and soul. Music should be composed according to what the song requires," Uttam pointed out during a tete-a-tete with Chandigarh Newsline this evening. Uttam, however, feels that it was not a one-man-show but teamwork that led to the feat. "Choreography, cinematography, lyrics, music, casting and even the idea of putting songs in the right place...all mattered."

"In the case of `DTPH' people took to the songs because of the easy melodies, genuine product, not taken from here and there, and the simple touching lyrics." He does not favour the latest trend of remixes for he feels that the evergreens made by the giants of yore should be left unhindered. "It is a very wrong trend and they spoil the originals for those who are churning out these have no sense of music or sound."

Uttam's ascent to the present fame and celebrity status was not an easy one. Since he was five, he spent his life virtually in gurudwaras across the country where his father sang kirtans, they finally reached Bombay in 1960. His first assignment was as a violinist for documentaries and public ads.

Ever since `65, when the great singer Shankar Shambhu took him as an arranger, Uttam had arranged music till `93 for many films including `Maine Pyar Kiya' and `Hum Aapke Hain Kaun'. In between he teamed up with Jagdish Khanna and provided music for Manoj Kumar's `Painter Babu' and `Clerk' and Smita Patil's last film Waaris. "Since `Clerk' flopped, we became jobless in the world of music direction."However, Metavision, owned by Yash Chopra's family, approached him for a telefilm. The trio -- Yash, wife Pamela and son Aditya -- decided to take him for their new musical after long sessions that went on for eight months. "He took from my first compositions, the songs Koi ladki hai and Ek dooje ke vaste, for the film."Soft-spoken Uttam does not believe in riding high on the crest for he was worried about his next project, the just-released Dushman. "I was apprehensive about the way people will take to the songs. But the sales are good and the people have really liked the song sung by Jagjit Singh and Lataji."

Uttam has two big projects coming up -- Farz and Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain.