Sitar maestro Niladri Kumar performed for the first time at the age of six at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. “I have no vivid memory of it, but I do have some old black and white photos,” he shares, adding that the biggest challenge was nervousness. That he is the son of sitar player Kathick Kumar was a well known fact by then. “My father remains my first and last idol,” he says. Karthick was a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar, while Niladri grew up to reinvent the sitar itself, a combination of a sitar and guitar — called zitar. With just five strings, the zitar became synonymous with Niladri, as he went on to tour alongside musicians like Zakir Hussain and work with international musicians like Swedish bass guitarist Jonas Jellborg.
He has also released over 15 albums, and also teamed up with music directors like Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Pritam. You can catch the sound of the zitar in songs like Tere Naina from My Name Is Khan and Crazy Kiya Re from Dhoom 2. Now, the musician is debuting as a music director for Laila Majnu, releasing today. Directed by Shaad Ali, brother of ace director Imtiaz Ali, Laila Majnu stars Avinash Tiwari and Tripti Dimri, and features five songs by Niladri. Ahead of the release, we caught up with him and found out how he approached this project and why reinvention is the future of music.
How was the experience of working with Sajid Ali?
He is extremely musical and understands the nuances of music very well. He was very clear about what he wanted from me as a composer but at the same time he was extremely receptive to what I had to say through the compositions.
What are your thoughts about teaming up with Imtiaz Ali?
Imtiaz Ali is the reason for me to be a part of Laila Majnu. I have always been a fan and an admirer of his work and the only thought that came when I was approached for the film was — ‘Yes’. His inputs and creative ideas are the backbone of what you hear in my music for this film.
How would you describe your music for the movie?
There is a fine thread that runs through all these songs for it is a tragic love story. I made these songs with a lot of heart and I hope and pray it reaches others as well.
Have you used any other instruments apart from zitar in this movie?
For the live sessions I did use rabab, sarod, guitars and the violin. Various other percussion instruments too have been used in scoring the songs.
Tell us the story behind reinventing the sitar. How popular is zitar in the musical world at the moment?
That is a long story and I will need to write a couple of chapters if I ever write a book on its evolution of how and why. In short , zitar today stands as a example of one being able to follow one’s heart with passion and being able to overcome the hurdles and be able to communicate to a whole new generation and try and move and motivate them towards this form of art.
I have been told by almost all the manufacturers of sitars in india that they have been selling as many electric sitars and its replicas with modifications if not more as the number of sitars and at pretty high prices too. The demand for it is increasing with time. So much so that most tanpura manufacturers of miraj now are making and selling both sitars and zitars. But I also pray and hope both the manufacturers and the buyers keep the conditions conducive for better sitars to be researched and crafted. If the makers of sitars in India consider themselves craftsmen more than businessmen, it will be better for both music and businesses too. I was always been told to patent the zittar but the reason I never did it was that I wanted it to spread and not be restricted because someone owns a patent. The signs of it spreading are very evident now and how.
In this age of contemporary music, how do you try to innovate to be ahead in the game and stay relevant?
It’s a good question. But you said it in your question. Being relevant in every age has been the key to be in the game. How to be relevant? Now that is so difficult to formulate. Having said this, I cannot help stress on the fact that knowledge, or talim as we call it in Urdu, or vidya in Hindi, is of paramount importance. You cannot have any alternatives for knowledge. It won’t take you far and keep you relevant for long. If you have to be known in any genre of music or if you want to innovate or if you want to be in tune with the age or era that you live in, you will need the basis of gyan (knowledge) to be able to even try to do that. And the funny thing of staying ahead of your game syndrome is that you only realise you are ahead in the game when you look back into the past. The future for a true innovator is always without a path and you have to carve that path. So staying ahead is not in your thoughts but to carve a path which not many have walked is the focus. There’s no point in staying ahead on an already established path, for there will always be someone ahead
of you.
How do you keep yourself busy when not musically occupied?
I usually pass my leisure time playing video games, cricket, football and flying virtual fighter planes. I thoroughly enjoy watching documentaries and recently saw one called the Nazi Hunters.