AR Rahman Wants Collective Revival For Indian Classical Music: ‘We Don’t Know Who’s Next’
Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman expresses concern over the future of Sufi music, emphasising the need for a "collective revival" of the genre in India.
The current music scene across the Indian industry is mostly dominated by Punjabi uptempo numbers, rap songs, hip-hop beats and indie tracks. The growing popularity of these genres has overshadowed the impact of Indian classical music among listeners. Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman is worried about the future of this particular genre and believes that it “needs collective revival" in India. During a recent chat, he opened up on how he is working towards nurturing the right classical talent.
Speaking with Hindustan Times, the ace music composer expressed, “We have lost all the legends of classical music, including Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Rashid Khan and Bismillah Khan sahab. We don’t know who’s the next big artiste. So, I want to invest a lot of my time to focus on spotting the right classical talent and nurturing them."
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AR Rahman recently won hearts as he joined International music sensation Ed Sheeran at a concert in Chennai. Besides, he has also been hitting the headlines for his concerts, including Sufi shows across various countries in the world. Last month, he also performed a Sufi concert, titled Haazri, in Mumbai, marking his return to the city for a concert after five years.
Apart from the concerts and back-to-back performances, AR Rahman also launched an initiative called the Bharat Maestro Awards to encourage classical musicians. Speaking about the same, he noted, “The way classical musicians are treated, and the way we respect them for their countless amount of practice, needs to be valued adequately. That’s one of the main reasons for the initiative. The idea is to help spot good talent, give them the right platform and identify the next masters of Indian classical music."
AR Rahman has publicly expressed his deep appreciation for classical music, particularly Sufi music, and it’s well-known that Sufi influences are present in many of his compositions. In the same conversation, he admitted that the genre is his “natural calling". Sharing the reason behind the same, he also admitted that the particular genre transcends the boundaries of religion which he deeply loves and gets inspired by the most. For the music composer, Sufi music is all about humanity and spirituality which makes the listeners feel the presence of the divine.
AR Rahman is known for his notable work in films like Dil Se, Slumdog Millionaire and Amar Singh Chamkila among others.
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