Santoor Maestro Rahul Sharma on Collaborating With Amitabh Bachchan, And Bringing Music Legends Together For Ramyug

Santoor Maestro Rahul Sharma, son of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, has curated amazingly divine music for the MX Player net sequence Ramyug. Directed by Kunal Kohli, the sequence options a fantastic quantity titled Hanuman, sung by Amitabh Bachchan who has lent his voice to many different devotional songs up to now. The music of the sequence options a number of the most and legendary artistes from the music business together with Flutist Padmavibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Santoor maestro Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma, singer Ustad Rashid Khan, Sonu Nigam, and Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain. Also Read – Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan’s forty eighth Wedding Anniversary| Watch Video To Know Lesser Known Facts In an interview with india.com, he explains all that went behind bringing all of the legends collectively, his sort of music, and the way he plans to take his father’s legacy ahead. Rahul additionally speaks on Bollywood utilizing classical ragas and respecting classical music. Excerpts: Also Read – Amitabh Bachchan Shares Priceless Wedding Pictures With Jaya Bachchan as They Complete 48 Years 1. How far do you suppose Indian classical music has come from the times when entry was restricted and it was thought-about unique to some gharanas?Today, Indian classical music has a world appreciation and presence. Thanks to a number of legendary maestros who, within the early 60s – 70s, took it overseas to offer the audiences a glimpse of it and later the listeners, who turned an ear to it and have been asking for extra. Whether it’s The Womad pageant by Peter Gabrel in Australia, New Zealand, England, or the Finish auditoriums in Capetown, South Africa, or the small gatherings in Benares, Indian classical music has promising torchbearers who’re taking it locations. Also Read – Amitabh Bachchan Celebrates 52 Years In Bollywood With a Collage of His Character Looks From 56 Movies

 2. Your work in Ramyug seems to be one thing extraordinarily profound, one thing that at the least the web-space hasn’t skilled earlier than. Are you open to experimenting extra with conventional music?Since Ramyug is predicated on Ramayana, it was crucial to have the presence of classical musicians, instrumentalists, vocalists, percussionists to offer it that deep pious really feel, on the identical time my collaborative sensibilities felt the necessity to have programmers give it the bigger than life sound. Hence you will notice Amitabh Bachchan singing the Hanuman Chalisa accompanying him Ustad Zakir Hussain, or Sonu Nigam singing to the legendary Santoor and flute Maestros Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma, PtHariprasadChaurasia. Then there’s Ustad Rashid Khan singing the Ram Seeta unhappy theme, to not point out PtBhawani Shankar’s highly effective Pakhavaj on the Raavan theme music with my voice together with Narayan Mani‘s ancient Veena. This was a great step in having these musicians for a Bollywood project at the same time experiment with Amitabhji singing a contemporary Hanuman power theme song. I’m open to experimenting and have been doing so in my collaborations.

3. How was it like collaborating with Amitabh Bachchan for the music? He has given his voice to many devotional numbers up to now. What was totally different this time and the way did he react to your work?Well, I used to be humbled by Superstar Amitabh Bachchan when he agreed to sing the music after he preferred what he heard. His sense of melody and rhythm, and naturally the extent to which he concerned himself in contributing to the little nuances and refrain traces, within the Hanuman music was superb. The indisputable fact that he knew that the legendary maestros have been a part of this, additionally made him extra captivated with this undertaking. He has sung devotional songs earlier than however this Hanuman theme is a really up-tempo tune and celebrates Hanuman Ji’s energy so it wanted to be sung with gusto and that’s precisely what he did, therefore it is vitally totally different from his earlier work. It was a dream come true for me to have him sing my composition and I keep in mind he needed the pitch of the music altered to his most well-liked baritone and took nice pains in rehearsing and dealing just a few nights on the music and at last despatched it again to me, and the result’s there for everybody to listen to, the Hanuman music has already crossed 5 million views and going sturdy. I’ve all the time been his fan, and I’m actually humbled by his blessings for my composition. 4. When you and different fabulously educated artistes such as you resolve to make fusion music and embody overseas beats or lyrics into your music, do you consider it as your contribution to the artwork, otherwise you think about it as the necessity of the hour?When even once I collaborated with Grammy winners resembling KennyG on Namaste India the album was No.1 on US Billboard Jazz charts or with electronics group Deep Forest of French pianist Richard Clayderman for Confluence, as soon as widespread issue was that I used to be the composer so it helped me design the album together with my music producer Jackie V in such a means that whether or not it’s with lyrics or simply instrumental it ought to be melodic. As I really feel melody is the soul of any music.

5. You designed music for a Bollywood film. But, we haven’t seen many classically educated artistes coming from a wealthy heritage of music like yours curating songs for cinema. Often, the notion is that ‘we are too pure for Bollywood’. What do it’s a must to say to this?Yes, in my very first movie I used to be fortunate to have Lata Mangeshkar ji sing 3 songs, and if you happen to keep in mind the songs from ‘MujhseDostiKaroge’, ‘Jaane Dil Main’, ‘AndekhiAnjani Se’ have been chartbusters and had nothing to do with classically-based ragas. Bollywood is all about adapting to the administrators’ imaginative and prescient and is situational, it’s a knack the place one has to give you 4-5 variational tunes for every scenario and the very best will get picked. Whereas Ramyug wanted a extra devotional but modern really feel. 6. Do you employ music for your self like do you typically simply play Santoor just for your self… virtually like in a meditative means?Well, I’m all the time taking part in the Santoor or Keyboards in my music room for my largest critics my spouse Barkha, and my son Abhinav. Their inputs assist me vastly. Yes, music has a therapeutic contact and might heal, particularly through the pandemic. When I’m practising alone it’s a type of meditation. 7. When you look again and also you see the legacy of your father – does it pressurize you ultimately or do you are feeling extra content material and extra celebratory about it?Well, I suppose the Santoor has come a great distance from my father introducing this Kashmiri instrument to Indian classical music and taking it internationally. With a few of my collaborations, Santoor moved into numerous new genres like Electronika, Jazz, New Age, and so forth, hopefully, the legacy will proceed with my 6-year-old son Abhinav who’s studying from me and his grandfather.