Veteran music composer and producer Abhijit Vaghani has offered a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into his friendship with Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan, recounting a candid studio conversation in which the actor explained the camera lens secrets behind his chiselled on-screen appearance.

The Studio Story

Vaghani, who has spent over 27 years shaping the sound of Hindi cinema, recalled the encounter during a conversation at his studio in the Andheri West area of Mumbai. He said Roshan had visited his home studio to make changes to a track, only for the session to wrap up far sooner than expected.

'He had come home to wow in the studio. At that time, I had a studio in my house, so he had come there, and he wanted to do some changes in the track. He came, I sat down within ten minutes, changes were done. He was like, ‘I parked 2 hours for the changes but it took just 10 minutes. What do we do now? Let’s sit and talk’,' Vaghani recalled.

The 200mm Lens Revelation

With time to spare, Vaghani said he seized the moment to ask Roshan something that had long intrigued him — how his face appears noticeably slimmer on screen than in person. Roshan reportedly pulled out his phone on the spot to demonstrate.

'He said that the face has cheek bones and a jawline. He shared that to capture the definitions in the face, they use 200 mm lenses. I said, ‘But that’s very expensive’. So he said, ‘Yeah, but I mean, I have my budgets no’. So, we used to have such banters. He’s a very wonderful guy,' Vaghani said.

The anecdote offers an unusual window into how top Bollywood productions invest in cinematographic choices that go far beyond storytelling — down to the specific glass used to flatter a lead actor’s bone structure.

Vaghani on AI in Music

Separately, Vaghani also addressed a subject stirring debate across the Indian music industry: the growing use of artificial intelligence in music production. He argued that AI has quietly resolved one of the most awkward conversations in the business — telling a celebrated singer that their voice does not fit a particular track.

'Earlier, I remember that there was once when we had called — I wouldn’t name the singer, but a really big singer — to sing one of the songs. Imagine telling that big singer, whoever had come, the music director sitting there, and he has to have a call with the singer stating the fact that, ‘Hey, listen, your voice is not fitting the bill’,' he said.

'I can’t even put it on the producer. So in today’s day with AI, I can actually judge that by doing it through AI. So, I don’t have to answer to anyone. And everyone gets to hear that song,' he added.

A Career Spanning Three Decades

Vaghani’s observations carry weight given his standing in the industry. Over a career exceeding 27 years, he has served as the creative engine behind numerous commercially successful Bollywood compositions. His dual perspective — as someone who has worked closely with A-list talent and navigated rapid technological change — gives his remarks an authority that goes beyond casual reminiscence. As AI continues to reshape music production pipelines, voices like Vaghani’s will likely grow more prominent in the conversation.