Ankur Tewari: The world belongs to the young. We live on rent

Ankur Tiwari

For the layman indulging in the lilting rendition of the musicians of Coke Studio Bharat, Ankur Tewari's association with the project may seem confounding. "It can be complicated," he laughs in unison. Tewari, after all, is rarely the face of the compositions that play out during the recording sessions that make it to television. As the curator, however, Tewari may well be the spine that keeps the entire show aligned. "With Coke Studio Bharat, I wanted to present the honest story of our country, musically. That involves talking to different musicians, artists, and lyricists. My job is to create the whole palette, and design the story of the season. [I determine] what each song should say. I've built a think tank around me, and that includes musicians like Kausar Munir, KJ Singh, and Swanand Kirkire," shares Tiwari, adding that the season is dedicated to Gen-Z, given that India is statistically "the youngest country in the world".

At 46, Tewari is arguably more aware of the tastes of young music listeners than several new-age musicians. He comprehends their world by "formally interviewing a bunch of kids from different places, including the interiors of India" and keeping his "eyes and ears open when engaging with them". "Because I travel a lot with my music, I speak to the interns and the young people who are organising the shows. The one thing I've learned about them is that they have no time for bullshit, and like honesty. Generations have fooled them, and given them a world that they are not happy with, and it's time to talk about it. We speak about anxiety, the environment, toxic love, adulting, and other matters. They are audacious, and they want to address things. It is important that the older generations listen to them. The world belongs to the young, and we are living on rent in their world."

While select songs that were part of the platform also grew popular because the folk numbers were employed in Indian television - and thereby inadvertently consumed by the masses - Tewari says he has seen listeners open their hearts to renditions in other languages too. "We are a country that grooved to Macarena, even when we had no idea what it was about. If you feel a song, [you will love it]. After the last edition, a lot of people who didn't understand Gujarati, grooved to Khalasi. Many who didn't know Kashmiri also continued to sing along to Kya karie korimol. The primary motive of art and music is to break down walls."

Soon before Tewari was tasked with creating a musical bouquet of India's distinct languages, he hit the headlines for his work on The Archies, whose sonic quality couldn't be more different than this project. His ability to successfully enhance projects that involve varied genres of music has been appreciated by the finest composers of cinema, but Tewari disagrees with the statement. "I am not always successful. Often, my efforts may fall flat, but you don't get to see that. Nobody sees failures. But, when I think of the things that have succeeded, I think the aspect that is common among them is that [while working on them], I reminded myself why I got into music in the first place. I [practice] music because I find it enjoyable, and sleep with a big smile on my face when I make something good. The idea is to stop obsessing over numbers, and create something that touches hearts, even if they are few."

Shreya Ghoshal, Diljit Dosanjh, Cyli Khare, Raf Saperra, MC Square, Neha Kakkar, and Kamla Devi, among others, will be part of this edition that launches this week.