How did you decide on a spiritual album with the subject of Zen? Do you practise it?
I had read about Zen six years ago in a book written by Osho and it fascinated me. I liked the complete philosophy. It’s cosmic, futuristic and profound. What Zen teaches is that it is the human mind that leads to all problems, which otherwise exist only on the periphery. We give these problems too much importance and make them seem big, as a result of which they overpower you. Zen tells us to move to the centre of the being and that’s when the mind disappears. According to this philosophy there’s a Buddha (the truth) in each of us. Buddhism says that one of the greatest truths is impermenance, and I could relate this to music. When we classical musicians perform at concerts, each time we play a raag, we play it differently, because each time there is an improvisation.
How did you think of relating santoor with Zen philosophy?
Most of my albums have always been some sort of experimentation. I have tried out fusion music, combining Western music with Indian classical, and they have been appreciated. Sometime back I had teamed up with pianist Richard Clayderman and the santoor-piano combination worked well. My aim has always been to give santoor a new direction and present it in a new style. The album Zen is yet another attempt at this. What’s common between Zen and santoor is that both are futuristic, and can transcend the barriers of time. Also I don’t think any musical album has been attempted on Zen.
Is the album aimed at niche listeners? Would a common man, who’s not into philosophy, understand it?
The music is simple and meant to appeal to anybody who can feel music. It’s unpretentious. If a common man walks into a music shop and listens to the album there, I am sure he will buy it. I would not call it a meditative or spiritual album, but rather a new-age album which will specially appeal to the new generation.
That means there’s no strong classical fare?
It is based on classical music since there’s a classical instrument like santoor used, but it’s simplified for the layman. There’s no hardcore classical stuff, just like in my earlier 12 albums. I have taken liberties to mellow down the ragas and fuse it with other electronic instruments like the wave drums and keyboard. I have always loved composing for private albums because I can unleash my creativity without any restrictions. I can try out mixing santoor with other instruments and musical genres. Such liberty can’t be taken when doing concerts since there are restrictions in classical music and one has to stick to them. Film music does give you a free hand compared to classical music, but here too the liberty you can take is little because the director is the boss and one is bound by the script. But albums give me freedom to do things my way.
What does Zen have to offer?
The album has musical compositions in keeping with the eight steps of meditation practised in Zen philosophy, which I learnt about when I did a course at Osho ashram in Pune. The first piece is titled Gibberish where you write all your thoughts on a paper and empty your mind. Then you have compositions named Let go where you deatch yourself from the materialistic things, No mind which is like an out-of-body experience, Psychedelia which is a deeper stage of meditation and concluding with the last piece titled Back to life which marks the re-birth of the soul. The compositions in the album take you through these different stages of meditation and there’s no break between each musical piece. All the eight compositions play continuously and this doesn’t interrupt the meditation process. After listening to the album you experience peace, relaxation and relief. That’s the aim of Zen, to spread happiness.
Have you experienced meditational bliss yourself?
I have always been fascinated by the supernatural, and spirituality is a part of it. I do meditate. We musicians always experience bliss while performing. When playing any instrument, after listening to the sound of music, you reach a stage of elevation which is close to the meditative state.
As you said you have always been experimenting with music. What kind of response have you got?
I started composing when I was 13 years old while learning the santoor, and at that time too I would try experimenting with the instrument. Recently I played with the band Shakti, which is known for its rocking, hi-energy music, and the jamming was liked by many. Your energy levels increase while playing with Shakti. Then I did an album with renowned pianist Richard Clayderman, which was quite an experience, what the santoor teaming up with the piano. The album got a good response in India, and now it has been released in the US, and there too it has aroused a lot of curiosity.
Coming to film music, you made your debut with Yash Chopra’s Mujhse Dosti Karoge. Do you feel the music didn’t get its due and you were ignored?
I don’t think so. All the songs were quite popular like ‘Jaane dil mein kab se hai tu...’ or ‘Andekhi najaani si...’, which are continuously played on all FM radio channels even today. The music company was thrilled with the bumper album sales, so I don’t know where the hitch is. Maybe the film didn’t do well here, so even if the music did well it didn’t make a big impact.
It’s not as if I am disappointed that I didn’t get much attention. Yash Chopra did offer me his next film which is again being directed by Kunal Kohli titled Hum Tum. But I couldn’t take it up because I am touring for my concerts and working on my album.
Tell us about your forthcoming concert tours?
I will be going to the Edinburgh Music Festival. After that there’s the Tehran World Santoor Festival, where one can get to see different types of santoor from places like China and Iran. Later I’ll be heading for the US, where I’ll be performing at nine concerts.
Does your father give his views on your experimental music with santoor?
Oh yes. Whatever I compose, I make it a point to play it to him first. He is quite open to my fusion music, though he always insists that I shouldn’t play around with the essence of the instrument. His purist friends do tell him sometimes that, “Rahul kya kar raha hai?” But I feel if I can reach out to the young generation with this fusion music and popularise santoor, then it’s worth it.
Are there any more collaborations with international artistes?
Yes, a few things are in the offing. But only at planning stages.
Tell us about the music video for Zen?
It’s a unique concept. You get to see 300 faces in three minutes in the video directed by Anubhav Sinha. It’s very rare that you find good videos for instrumental music and this one could be a trendsetter.