The Score Magazine January 2019 issue | Page 28

ADITI SARAWAGI MULTILINGUAL MUSICIANS IN INDIA W ith music pervading every nook and cranny of the country, there are artists in every lane of every city. If one’s work is good, they will inevitably reach a global audience. Having no language barrier is one of the most beautiful aspects of music and there are some artists who create beautiful music in multiple languages such is the depth of their talents. Here’s listing some artists who have made us fall in love with music which we may or may not understand. When it comes to Indian music directors, the first name which comes to mind has to be that of A.R.Rahman. In any genre, he is the best our country has seen, reaching out to a global audience. When it comes to multiple languages, once again he has redefined contemporary Indian music and has composed music for Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi as well as English musicals. Be it Bombay and Roja in Tamil, Dil Se and Rockstar in Hindi or the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire in English, Rahman was one of the first ones to perform equally well in all languages, the true musical genius that he is. One of Bollywood’s most successful music directors Himesh Reshammiya is also one such artist who has composed for over a hundred films including those in Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Bhojpuri, Marathi and even English. Critically acclaimed musical trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are also known for their contributions in multiple languages including Kamal Hassan’s Vishwaroopam and Aalavandhan in Tamil. One musical pair which has to be mentioned when it comes to making beautiful music in whichever language they touch is Ajay-Atul. Starting out in the Marathi industry with hits like Jatra and Restaurant, they even dabbled in Tamil movies and have a strong presence in the Hindi music industry with blockbuster albums in Agneepath, Singham 26 The Score Magazine highonscore.com and Zero. Their Sairat in Marathi and Agneepath in Hindi has won them several awards as well. The whole fraternity is aware of the brilliant work by Vishal-Shekhar in the Hindi film industry but not many know that they have also dappled in Telegu and Marathi films as well. Bengal has a rich cultural heritage and how can a Bengali artist stay behind when it comes to any artistic list. Anupam Roy has worked as a music director in Bengali films like Autograph and Hemlock Society with melodious soundtracks but what sealed his deal in the Hindi film industry has to be the soundtrack of the film Piku whose songs are still a favourite. Shantanu Moitra is another Bengali artist well known for his work in award winning films like Parineeta, Lage Raho Munnabhai and Pink. One can also not forget the brilliant Bappi Lahiri who is behind several successful Hindi soundtracks like Namak Halal, Himmatwala amongst several others and has also produced tracks for Bengali films like Amar Sangi and Pronomi Tomay. He also has a few Tamil films under his belt. Young musicians know that the reach of the internet is such that people from all over the country will listen to their music if its good. One such artist is everyone’s favourite Amit Trivedi. He has not only composed hugely popular soundtracks from WakeUp Sid, Aisha, English Vinglish, Lootera, and Queen amongst others; he has also composed tracks for Malayalam, Telegu, Tamil, Kannada and Marathi films as well. He is a true multilinguistic for sure! Anirudh Ravichander is another young artist who has created waves in the South Indian music industry but also has a Bollywood presence with composing the soundtrack for the Dhanush starrer 3. He is the man behind the viral song Why This Kolaveri Di and is also behind few singles in Hindi.