Santoor exponent Rahul Sharma has said composing music for Hindi films was not a priority for him right now and was likely to think about it in another two years.
Rahul composed the music for one Hindi film, ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge,’ but is not taking up similar projects as of now.
“Films are not a priority for me. I want to take the santoor ahead and to experiment with different genres of music. I have cut 40 or 41 albums so far. I was offered films after my first one, but I stuck to performances and albums. It is very difficult to strike a balance between travelling, performances and giving music to Hindi movies. I will think about composing music for films maybe in two years from now,” Rahul said in an exclusive interview with UNI here.
Rahul feels that nowadays there is no scope for music in films. “It is just a formality. It is not like in the 80’s (when music was part of a film). The lyrics have also changed. I don’t think that quality has remained,” he said, but added that he did not want to criticise the present lot of music directors.
So while fans wait to hear some quality music from him in films, Rahul will stay busy with public performances, at the Bandra Fort in Mumbai this evening (in a duet with his illustrious father Pt. Shivkumar Sharma), in Budapest (Hungary) later (March 27) and then in the US. Speaking of the US, Rahul said that there was a lot of interest in the santoor in the country. “People are aware of the santoor and want to learn to play the instrument, but there are no proper schools to impart training,” he said. Asked if he would start a school himself, Rahul said he would think about it.
Rahul, whose next album ‘Rhythm of Love’ with Ustad Zakir Hussain is due to be released in about two weeks’ time, feels that new music should be released directly on the Internet, so that there is a check on piracy to some extent, and the musician derives direct benefit (from royalties on downloads). “Music companies should make CD’s (compact discs) that cannot be copied. This will help curb piracy,” he said.
“With technology growing at a rapid pace, I think that even CD's will become obsolete in the times to come. We should be ready for the next technology,” he also said.
‘Rhythm of Love’ is a live recording of a performance that Rahul and Ustad Zakir Hussain gave at San Francisco recently. Another album, with saxophonist Kenny G, is in the pipeline. The as yet untitled album has been recorded and is due for release in about two months.
Rahul was in the city for a private performance last evening at ‘Sudesh’s Courtyard,’ an art gallery that aims to promote up and coming artists and to popularise art. As Rahul played, an artist painted along the beats and the notes to create a canvass. Rahul has earlier given a similar performance at Dubai with calligrapher Achyut Pallav.
UNI, Nagpur, February 28, 2010
Rahul composed the music for one Hindi film, ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge,’ but is not taking up similar projects as of now.
“Films are not a priority for me. I want to take the santoor ahead and to experiment with different genres of music. I have cut 40 or 41 albums so far. I was offered films after my first one, but I stuck to performances and albums. It is very difficult to strike a balance between travelling, performances and giving music to Hindi movies. I will think about composing music for films maybe in two years from now,” Rahul said in an exclusive interview with UNI here.
Rahul feels that nowadays there is no scope for music in films. “It is just a formality. It is not like in the 80’s (when music was part of a film). The lyrics have also changed. I don’t think that quality has remained,” he said, but added that he did not want to criticise the present lot of music directors.
So while fans wait to hear some quality music from him in films, Rahul will stay busy with public performances, at the Bandra Fort in Mumbai this evening (in a duet with his illustrious father Pt. Shivkumar Sharma), in Budapest (Hungary) later (March 27) and then in the US. Speaking of the US, Rahul said that there was a lot of interest in the santoor in the country. “People are aware of the santoor and want to learn to play the instrument, but there are no proper schools to impart training,” he said. Asked if he would start a school himself, Rahul said he would think about it.
Rahul, whose next album ‘Rhythm of Love’ with Ustad Zakir Hussain is due to be released in about two weeks’ time, feels that new music should be released directly on the Internet, so that there is a check on piracy to some extent, and the musician derives direct benefit (from royalties on downloads). “Music companies should make CD’s (compact discs) that cannot be copied. This will help curb piracy,” he said.
“With technology growing at a rapid pace, I think that even CD's will become obsolete in the times to come. We should be ready for the next technology,” he also said.
‘Rhythm of Love’ is a live recording of a performance that Rahul and Ustad Zakir Hussain gave at San Francisco recently. Another album, with saxophonist Kenny G, is in the pipeline. The as yet untitled album has been recorded and is due for release in about two months.
Rahul was in the city for a private performance last evening at ‘Sudesh’s Courtyard,’ an art gallery that aims to promote up and coming artists and to popularise art. As Rahul played, an artist painted along the beats and the notes to create a canvass. Rahul has earlier given a similar performance at Dubai with calligrapher Achyut Pallav.
UNI, Nagpur, February 28, 2010
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