Blending Sufi with Hindustani classical

Ripul Sharma

Baba Azmi walked the tightrope when making his directorial debut with the aim of paying tribute to father Kaifi Azmi, while navigating the tricky subject of a Muslim girl pursuing Bharatnatyam. Ripul Sharma too faced a similar dilemma when Azmi tasked him with the feat of creating a climax track that blends Sufi music with that associated to Bharatnatyam.

Sharma, composer of the Friday release Mee Raqsam, tells mid-day, "Since the song is a fusion of Sufi and Indian classical, you will hear the lyrics of 'Ali, Ali' [against the backdrop] of Natraj. That was tricky [to execute]. I had to choose dholaks to represent Sufi music, and then use instruments, like the violin, that is employed for Bharatnatyam music. Apart from that, I also had to ensure that the lyrics did justice to both genres. To do so, I heard Pakistani songs, South Indian songs, and bandishes as well."

In order to make the music of the Naseeruddin Shah starrer palatable for the masses, Sharma worked on simplifying lyrics and making his songs concise. "We wanted to make the music as authentic as possible to suit a Bharatnatyam film. A classical song is usually 10-12 minutes long, and we had to bring it down to one to two minutes for the film. Also, the dancers have certain poses they practice [which are named in the songs]. So, when showcasing that, we had to make the words easier for people to understand," says Sharma, who worked hand in glove with the choreographers when working on the film, presented by Shabana Azmi.

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