Catching up with the music maestro, who’s in the news after actor-filmmaker Akbar Khan signed him on for his ambitious epic film Taj Mahal...

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MUKESH —What a record!

Meeting veteran composer Naushad is always a pleasure, especially for youngsters like us, since he regales you with interesting anecdotes of the film industry in his time, which was considered the ‘golden era’. But that doesn’t mean that Naushad is stuck in a time warp. He is quite tuned in to today’s scene, though he makes it clear that he doesn’t really approve of the trend in today’s films or music, which he describes as "West-influenced."

Sitting in his sprawling bungalow, under a beautifully painted portrait of himself, gifted by a musician-painter fan of his from London, Naushad talks about his new assignment, Akbar Khan’s soon-to-be-launched Taj Mahal. The veteran composer hasn’t been composing for films for a long time now, though intermittently he did compose for a couple of teleserials. The last film he composed for was Prem Lalwani’s Shah Rukh Khan-Manisha Koirala-starrer Guddu, in which he tried out something different from his usual style. So it’s a welcome announcement that Naushad will be back in the fray. "I don’t mind composing for films today, but then I have always insisted that it has to be complete Indian music. I won’t compromise on that," he asserts.

Having worked with the Khan earlier on the teleserial Akbar The Great, Naushad is assured that the filmmaker is a patron of Indian classical music. "Akbar is not like the present-day producers, who get you some cassette of a foreign song, and ask you to copy it. He has been fascinated with the Mughal history for a long time and has deep knowledge of the subject. For his film, he has again opted for the story of the Mughal era, that of the Taj Mahal. But besides Mumtaz Mahal and Shahjahan, his film will also focus on Jehangir, Noorjehan and other characters. So it’s a huge canvas and just apt for a musical," the composer informs.

Discussing the score with actor-filmmaker Akbar Khan

Naushad opines the film’s subject is just perfect for a die-hard Indian classical music exponent like him. "With its Mughal backdrop, it has got a good scope for Indian classical music. In the Mughal era, Indian classical music was widely prevalent. Emperor Akbar had given it a big boost since he had in his court great musicians like Tansen, Swami Haridas, Amir Khusrau. The complete score of this film will be based on ragas," he says excitedly.

There is talk that international composer Yanni will be roped in for the background score. Is he looking forward to this association of Indian and Western classical music? "Oh, yes. Akbar did tell me that he was keen on getting Yanni to do the background music. The melody will be mine, which will be orchestrated and conducted by Yanni. I think it’s a very good idea," agrees Naushad, "The film will be dubbed in English for the international market, and in this version there won’t be songs like in the Hindi version. It will only have the background score conducted by Yanni."

If Naushad has his way, he’d prefer the background music in the classical form of aalaap. "Imagine an alaap sung by Begum Parveen Sultana, or some other classical singer, in a raag befitting the happy or sad situation in the film, playing in the background. Now wouldn’t that add to the regality of the film? If Akbar feels the same way, then it will be great. He is one filmmaker who’s a joy to work with, since he understands the finer nuances of music."

Will he try to change his style (like he did for Guddu) to suit today’s trend, or will we get to hear the trademark Naushad style of music in Taj Mahal? "Pasand banayi jaati hai (You’ve got to develop the taste). People will like whatever is presented to them well. It’s totally up to us creative people to make the masses develop a taste for something good," he opines, "A film like Lagaan is the best example of this. Though it belongs to a particular period, it was presented beautifully and people have loved it. This proves that a good film or a good score will always work. If you go back in time and think about the success of films like Mughal-e-Azam or Mother India, they went down in history because they were worked hard upon, and it showed. They had Indianness in them. My music in these films, and in films like Ganga Jamuna or Baiju Bawra, was based on Indian classical music and was a hit. Why, in Ganga Jamuna we had songs in Awadhi dialect, and they are sung to this day."

With that he veers towards his favourite topic -- the ‘pop’ularisation of Indian music, and the step-motherly treatment meted out to Indian classical music. "It’s a sad scene as far as the music of today is concerned," Naushad rues, "Pop music is being favoured in place of our rich Indian classical music. Our classical musicians, who have done so much tapasya, and mastered our classical instruments, are sitting idle. At this rate, it won’t be long before musical instruments like veena, sarangi, shehnai are relegated to the museum. All these exponents of Indian classical music are telling their progeny to either learn western instruments like guitar, or opt for another profession altogether. If this is the case, how will classical music live?"

Tell him that things have changed today, and Indian classical musicians are making big money with concerts abroad, some even leading an enviable lifestyle, and he argues that it doesn’t justify the neglect in India. "It’s being patronised abroad and not here by Indians. And I am talking about the poor veena or sarangi-player, not celebrities," he quips.

It is for this very reason that he is setting up a music academy, the composer points out. "My academy will solely promote Indian classical music and give training in Indian classical instruments, specially those which are now being used very rarely. I have had talks with Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh for a plot, and the work on the academy should begin soon," he informs.

For the composer who has come up with unforgettable scores in period pieces like Mughal-e-Azam, Baiju Bawra and Shahjehan to name some, this film is yet another challenge. Naushad is also quite excited about composing Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s poems for an album. "I have already composed one poem of his, which I presented to Atalji when he was in Mumbai, for the knee operation. Five more poems remain to be composed. Hari (Hariharan) will be singing them. And after the album is ready, I’ll present it to Atalji on his birthday, in January. The album is financed by Jalgaon Society’s Keshav Communications, which is a Janata Bank affiliate. A video has to be shot now, for which I have already suggested the story to the producers," he says.

Though age has caught up with the maestro (he complains of the slight pain in his knees), he waxes eloquent on his only passion -- music -- with amazing enthusiasm. He is all eager to start recording for Taj Mahal with Akbar Khan. "We’ve had initial discussions about the score and what it should sound like," he tells us, "We’ll start recording as soon as I am back from my short trip to the US."

Is the US trip in connection with a musical activity? "No. My daughters reside there and this is my yearly visit to them. Ladkiyan zyada pyar karti hain maa-baap se (daughters love and care for their parents more than the sons). When they come to know I have had a slight fever or I am unwell, they immediately call to ask about my well-being. I look forward to meeting them and sharing some time with them," he says fondly.

—Salma Khatib
salmakhatib@hotmail.com