Bollywood music will always be special but santoor is my soul, says Rahul Sharma

Despite debuting in Bollywood with much promise, santoor maestro Rahul Sharma has largely stayed away from the film industry, choosing instead to dedicate himself to classical and fusion explorations of the santoor.

Now, nearly two decades after his first outing with tabla virtuoso Bickram Ghosh, the two have reunited for a second collaboration.

In an exclusive chat with us, Rahul talks about his decision to focus on his musical roots over commercial cinema. “For a travelling, performing musician, film music is time consuming. When my dad did it, he had a partner in Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia to share the burden with,” he notes, referring to the iconic Shiv–Hari duo.Rahul had made his Bollywood debut as a music director, with Mujhse Dosti Karoge, and the entire album was a hit. And yet, just when the film world expected him to dive deep into movie music, Rahul chose a different path. He explains, “Well, yes, the music of my very first film was superhit! And what an opportunity it was to work with Lata Mangeshkar,” he recalls. Even as offers poured in from Bollywood, Rahul found himself at a crossroads.

“I did receive several offers after that, but I had at the same time embarked on my stage performances as an artist and it was complicated at that point to manage film composition and take the santoor across the globe,” he explains.Why did he choose the latter, we ask. “I chose the latter as it was a huge responsibility and legacy. The santoor was and is a priority. Most of my music compositions emerged in the form of international collaborations and thematic albums, which brought me closer to stellar musicians across the globe and were far more enriching.

Having said that, a few years ago, I had Amitabh Bachchan ji sing my composition Jai Hanuman, which I had composed for Kunal Kohli’s Ramyug.

That was special because I also had Zakir Hussain play on it making it the first combo with the three of us. It was amazing working with Amitabh Bachchan Ji. Everything was done post-midnight hour. He loved the composition and sang it with such amazing sincerity! I was totally humbled by his professionalism and efforts. Bollywood will always be special but santoor is my soul.”So what now? “Of and on, I do keep getting offers for films, so I'm eyeing that direction too,” he reveals.