A film should inspire a composer to create something out of the box: Santoor maestro Rahul Sharma

In an era dominated by electronic beats and streaming-friendly hooks, santoor maestro Rahul Sharma has steadily expanded the instrument’s sonic universe — taking it from its Kashmiri folk roots into global, cinematic and now symphonic spaces.Despite over 75 albums and global collaborations with Richard Clayderman, Peter Gabriel, Kenny G, Deep Forest and philharmonic orchestras, Rahul’s association with Bollywood has been selective. He believes film music today often lacks the distinct identity it once carried.“Film is completely a director and scriptwriter’s vision. The subject should inspire a composer to create something out of the box. Unfortunately, a lot of music is picked out of a music bank for films, rather than being defined like earlier times, which, in my opinion, gave more identity to a composer’s style,” he says.He adds, “If the subject has scope for classical music, then it can be interwoven with a fusion genre, but it should fit the scheme of things and be catchy enough for the common man to hum. Intricate classical melodies can be used only if they are befitting.”Rahul has, however, had memorable moments in cinema. “I enjoyed my Bollywood tryst, having had Lata Mangeshkar sing three or four of my songs, and more recently, Amitabh Bachchan as well.

My father and Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia together scored music — it was a great partnership. Travelling as a world musician is more exciting, and collaborations take you into new territory. That said, even after finding success in films, if the right project comes along, I would be excited to do it.

”A 35-piece chamber orchestra that reimagines the instrumentCurrently, Rahul is focusing on featuring a 35-piece chamber orchestra that reimagines the instrument on an unprecedented scale. “Symphony of Santoor is created in a manner that depicts ‘ancient strings with modern calm’. When you hear the santoor with an entire philharmonic orchestra, it has never been done before, and its success is creating a new path for the instrument. While retaining the purity in the alaaps and incorporating folk, raagmalas, and genres like jazz, it expands the horizon of the santoor in a way never experienced before,” he says.