AR Rahman: Classical music needs collective revival, as all the legends are gone, don't know who the next big artiste is

At a time when the Indian music space is hugely dominated by Punjabi uptempo numbers and rap songs, Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman is worried about the future of Indian classical music and says the genre “needs collective revival” in India. “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,” says Rahman.

Besides joining musician Ed Sheeran at a concert in Chennai recently, AR Rahman has been busy touring the world for concerts, including Sufi shows. He performed a Sufi concert, titled Haazri, in Mumbai last month that marked his return to Mumbai for a public concert after five years. Last month, the musician also launched an initiative called the Bharat Maestro Awards to nurture classical musicians. “The way classical musicians are treated, and the way we respect them for their countless amount of practise, 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.”

His love for the classical genre is evident in all his compositions, and Sufi music is a major part of it. Sharing that the genre is his “natural calling”, Rahman adds, “Sufi music transcends the boundaries of religion, which is something I love and get inspired by the most. It is borderless. People from across the country resonate with it, including songs like Kun Faya Kun (Rockstar; 2011). I love its mysticism. It’s all about humanity and spirituality, and it doesn’t lecture or promote [an agenda]. It makes you feel the presence of the divine.”