Everyone is holed up inside their homes amid this nationwide lockdown. And making the most of this time, composer-singer Shekhar Ravjiani is doing what he loves the most — creating music. And that too at a fast pace. He has come out with his latest track, his rendition of Mahamrityunjay Mantra, which he churned out in four days flat.
He tells us, “The best part is, I didn’t put too much effort into it. There wasn’t even a second take, I did it in one go, it came from my gut. Generally, the thinking process is like ‘what will happen, yeh song yahan jaayega, wahan jaayega’. But this time, it was like me sitting and praying that things become okay.”
The 41-year-old has a studio set-up inside his house, so it made things easier for him. We ask him that what things are like for musicians today, considering how for actors, work has come to a stop in this lockdown. Music, however, can come anytime, anywhere.
Ravjiani explains, “It’s very subjective. I’ve written most of my tunes till now in the middle of the night, when I’d wake up and sit on the piano, or getting one line while taking a shower. Us, musicians, can do it anywhere. I miss going to my studio and my farm house; I’ve written a lot of songs there. It’s a boon to be a musician, you can be anywhere yet make something.”
He’s been spending his time with his family and cooking too, which he says he “never used to do”. Reading and writing too was something he was out of practice until the lockdown made him take them up again.
We also can’t resist asking Ravjiani about the hot debate recently — around the recreation of the Delhi 6 song Masakali, and the original team comprising of composer AR Rahman coming out against it. Shekhar, along with his music partner Vishal Dadlani have been vocal about not preferring recreations of old songs.
Asked about this recent debate, all the composer-singer says is this: “Our problems are so big, other things don’t matter anymore. Globally, there is so much stuff going on. I think we should rise above all those problems, this and that. It used to be our life, when we used to have issues with something, now it’s all about togetherness and being kind to each other. That’s the way we can get out of this.”
