Shweta Tripathi travelled all the way to Amsterdam only to attend a live concert by Hans Zimmer, the maverick musician to watch him live, a long-standing wish she has quietly held on to over the years being a cinematic aficionado that she is.
For Shweta, film music has always been more than just something that plays in the background. It is often the first thing that stays with her after a film ends thanks to geniuses like Hans. Zimmer’s compositions known for his iconic score for films like Dune, Interstellar, The Dark Knight, in particular, have been a constant presence for her through her years being of an actors, a cinema now and has shaped how she experiences cinema.
She speaks about music as something deeply woven into her process as an actor. Before every project, she builds a playlist, one that reflects where the character is emotionally. It helps her understand silences, pauses, and inner conflicts, sometimes even before the script fully settles in. Hans Zimmer’s music, she feels, does much of that work without saying a word.
“His music has always stayed with me long after a film ends,” Shweta shares. “There’s an honesty and depth in his compositions that really hits you emotionally. As an actor and a cinema student, I’m drawn to anything that helps me understand emotion better, and his music does that quietly, without explanation. Watching him live feels like the most direct way to experience that energy.”
The concert was also an excuse to step away from routine and allow herself to simply absorb something without needing to analyse it too much. “I’m coming back with a renewed perspective,” she says. “Music has such a strong role in shaping emotion and storytelling, and seeing it come alive like this feels important.” For Shweta, the trip was about returning with something intangible, a feeling, a rhythm, a deeper understanding that will inevitably find its way into her work.