JOIN USHindustani ghazal and bhajan singer Anup Jalota has carved a niche for himself in the
music industry. Now, he is all set to debut in the film industry with Satya Sai Baba, where he will be essaying the role of Sai Baba.
He has accepted this offer even though he is busy touring for his performances. “I am getting a chance to dip my fingers into different things. I am enjoying every minute of what I am doing. I thank all those who have given me such opportunities, I’m going places,” he tells Metrolife, soon after recording a 15-minute Kannada song for a yoga university.
The maestro, who was in the United States of America recently, observes that parts of the US, particularly Washington DC and San Francisco, are where classical music is very popular. “Classical music has been popularised by the likes of Zakir Hussain, Pandit Jasraj and Pandit Ravi Shankar. The music academies in these places have also helped boost interest in classical music,” he says.
He adds, “There is a need for modernisation of classical music to popularise it. For
instance, I make use of the guitar and sitar to attract a large crowd.”
Lamenting the death of two well-known figures — Jagjit Singh and Mehdi Hassan — popular for their renditions of ghazals, as a big loss for the industry, Anup says, “I want this year to be a tribute to the maestros. Hence, for the rest of the year, I am looking forward to doing more work on ghazals.
On my part, I will be travelling to the US, UK as well as rendering local concerts. Next year, I will be giving a performance in South Africa.” He is looking forward to the release of the music album along with singer Pankaj Udhas titled ‘We love you Jagjit’, in the early part of November.
Happy to return to the City, to which he has been coming for the last 30 years to perform, Anup says that his favourite venue is Chowdaiah Memorial Hall. However, he rues that Bangalore is fast ‘losing its charm’.
“Ten years ago, Bangalore was such a different place when people used to move from Mumbai to settle down here. Today, although the City is cosmopolitan, people are not that excited about it,” he says.