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| Sami Solid | ||
| Rajiv Vijayakar Music has changed a lot in the last three years. Is there any feature that differentiates your new album Kisi Din from your previous work? Well, yes, because I thought that it was time for me to move on. I do not like the idea of remaining in a comfort zone for too long. Treading unfamiliar terrain helps a creative entity because of the excitement of experimenting and the vicarious sense of adventure - because you are uncertain and do not know whether something new will be accepted or will turn out worthwhile. Kisi Din has 11 original tracks. For the first time, I have removed some trademarks of my music. Of course, what is important and necessary in its consistency is melody - music is not possible without it - but I have changed the way the songs have been dressed and given my music a makeover. In which way? I have used the tabla and dholak very sparingly. The sound inclines a lot towards world music. For the first time, as is the trend today even in the way we speak, there are English lyrics as well. For decades we have alway spoken in a mix of Hindi and English, but the English component has increased, which is perhaps why the songs are reflective of this trend today. Why is it so that modern music in films and pop has come to mean elimination of Indian instruments like tabla, dholak and so on, and the bandying of names like World Music, Fusion, Lounge and what-have-you? In short, why is being Indian in one's sound being equated with being dated or retro? I agree that terms like World Music and fusion are used with too much reckless ease. If you go by labels, my first album of what can now be called World Music was released in 1990 when even the term was not in use! And I think that Indian sound and instruments can be pretty hip and hep. I used the tabla and dholak in a very hip-hop way in my songs 'Sun zaraa' and 'Lucky lips' from Lucky - No Time For Love.In my album Kisi Din, I have not completely shunned the tabla and dholak but EQ-ed them differently and employed them unconventionally. In fact, there is nothing new at all about fusion - it's been there since before even Naushadsaab's time. I remember reading about how the harmonium had been banned at one time by All-India Radio because it was considered a foreign instrument since it was derived from the accordion. The violin was also not accepted initially as an Indian instrument. I think that it's all relative and a matter of Time. What is standard today was experimental when it began and yesterday's pop star is today's classical musician! Have you changed your vocal style too in any way in Kisi Din? I cannot change my voice, can I? (Laughs) As for vocals, they have to change with the demands of each song. So what is constant about your albums apart from the melody? |
And what was the significance of the title of the album?
The same. Kisi Din means 'Some Day' which is what I thought and would say whenever a friend would ask me what I was doing to myself with my food binges that had made me gain all that weight. And then they would ask me, "When will that day come?" Then the time came when my doctors said - live only for six months or lose all that weight!
There was one more sorrow in my life: I had not seen my son for 9 years - he lives with his mother in Karachi. So the theme seemed to recur in my life. Kisi Din I would get to see him. And then in September 2006, I did get to meet him! Obviously it was one of the greatest moments of my life.
Oh, he does, he does! He looks just like I did in childhood. His name is Azaan, which means the call of prayer. I remember the Azaan that I experienced on my pilgrimage to Madina and the sheer feeling of bliss that it gave me. I wanted a name that connected Religion and Music. Since you term it a personal album, are there songs in it with lyrics that directly talk of health, as in the fun-songs of your past albums?
No, no. Maybe I should have had a song that went 'Mujhko thoda kam karaa de!' (laughs) There are mostly romantic songs but there are also tracks full of fun and masti. Are there any songs directly about a father-son bond or relationships?
There are songs that seem just romantic ones on the surface but can be interpreted differently at another level. The lyrics are designed that way, akin in a way to Sufi music and poetry that have always influenced me, in which the words can equally fit a beloved as well as the Almighty. I have always been a strong believer in God and destiny. Human beings are slave to logic and greedy for explanations, but some things in life are completely unanswered and beyond logic, as when we get something without effort. There is a song that goes 'Ae khuda' in which I express my personal belief about the fact that while one finds a lot of peace in a house of prayer, we do not have to go anywhere to find God - He is there within us and everywhere. Your album reflects your feelings, but the words are written by Sameer. How do you get someone else to portray your innermost thoughts?
It's similar to the way a film song is tailor-made by a lyricist and a music director according to the demands of the filmmaker and the screenplay. When I write a melody for an album there is a very clear screenplay for it in my mind and occasionally a dummy mukhda. I tell Sameerji what I want to say, antara by antara, giving him a direction the thoughts must take. I also tell him if I want specific words included. And I must say that Sameerji has been very accurate in interpreting my musical dreams. Is there any difference in the way you musically approach a track from your album and a film song?
The film song is tailor-made to the needs of the film and the preferences of the filmmaker. I have to make the sound design in that fashion. For example, Lucky - No Time For Love was based in Russia, so I did bring in some flavour of the region with instruments from there and by being conscious about composers from there like Tchaikovsky. My next film as a composer will be Guru Dakshina produced by K Sera Sera and directed by Ashwini Choudhary. It is based in Uttar Pradesh and I will be tailoring my sound keeping that in mind. In albums, I have a completely free hand, and can do exactly what I want. You have barely done work as a film composer
Yes, I have never over-indulged in anything other than food! (Guffaws). My first song for a film was Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke ('Aaja aaja') and then for Dev (Anand)saab's Love At Times Square. My first film as a composer was Lucky - No Time For Love. And which was your first playback assignment?
In terms of being recorded it was the beautiful 'Hum tum mile' in Shakti - The Power, a background song composed by Ismail Darbar. I remember Boney Kapoor calling me up and the recording happening late at night - your first song is always special and you do not forget it. But my first film song released was 'Tu sirf mera mehboob' under Anu Malik in Ajnabee. The song became a hit. There is something we must speak about - your recent battle of the bulge. How did you manage it?
Well, I consulted a specialist in America. He told me that I had to change my lifestyle and habits, and that it was important not to regain what I had lost. The fundas were simple: no rice, wheat, bread, sugar and oil. A high-protein, high vegetable diet was prescribed and a zero calorie drink. Non-vegetarian food was permitted as I normally prefer fish. I also did specific exercises. You mentioned a fusion scene pre-Naushad. Obviously you have been a keen observer of old Hindi film music.
Of course I am. I would watch films from early childhood and since I was more musically-inclined than kids my age, the music director would be more important than the stars in them! I was especially fond of the two Burmans, whose music while being completely different from each other's shared the characteristics of simple melodies and interesting rhythms. I thought that the RK music was fabulous, whether from Shankar-Jaikishan or Laxmikant-Pyarelal, and that both these duos were simply brilliant too. L-P's music for Subhash Ghai was exemplary for its big sound. I was also especially fond of C.Ramachandra, who was so underrated despite his range. What is praiseworthy about today's music according to you?
The freedom to choose from a vast variety. You don't like it, switch it off. Today, every aspect of life is multi-cultural, and so is music. We are also contributing to the multi-culturalism, which is exciting. Music today reflects life and times, and good or bad has become subjective.
As someone who hails from Pakistan, what sparked off your affinity for Indian music?
I always lived abroad - in UK, USA, Canada and Portugal. Even as a kid, it was very easy to access Indian music there. My parents were music lovers who always loved Indian music.
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