Music producers don’t care about social consciousness: Ustad Shujaat Khan - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Music producers don’t care about social consciousness: Ustad Shujaat Khan

Hindustan Times | By, New Delhi
Feb 06, 2017 12:20 PM IST

Ustad Shujaat Khan, who will be playing in the Capital says that classical music has reached amazing heights and the demand for vulgar lyrics will always continue.

Classical music may have a niche audience, but it is this very aspect that adds to it’s fine quality––says Ustad Shujaat Khan. “Places like the Carnegie Hall are specifically for fine arts. To see the height that classical music has reached, one has to see the venues. There are so many people ki hilne ki jagah nahi hoti, jitney andar hote hain, utne hi baahar hote hain. Bollywood and other forms of Hindi music have travelled all over the world but only those who know Hindi can understand it, unlike classical music,” he says.

Ustad Shujaat Khan says that nominations and awards are fleetingly exciting things.
Ustad Shujaat Khan says that nominations and awards are fleetingly exciting things.

The artist who, who follows a unique style of playing sitar, says that the credit belongs to his father alone. “At one time, Sitar was heavily based on stroke pattern. It was my father who included gayiki in sitar. His style tries to bring the instrument as close as possible to the human voice in terms of replication,” he explains. “It is more tiring and difficult for the fingers of course, but it has so much melody that every instrumentalist follows gayaki ang. If you move away from it, you lose the romanticism.”

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Ask the Sitar exponent what he thinks of Hindi songs with racy lyrics, and he touches upon the double standards that exist in the society. “If someone likes songs where the lyrics are ‘maa baap bahar gaye hain, and chewing gum se chipkenge’… how would you feel If your sister was singing the song at the dinner table? Double standards mat karo,” he adds. However, he does feel that there are a lot of producers who shy away from social responsibility. “There are producers who don’t care about social consciousness. The demand for something horrible will never stop; its upto you what you want to choose.”

Not known to many, Khan’s album The Rain was nominated for the Grammys in 2004 for Best Traditional World Music Album. The artist, however, is humble as ever. “Things like nominations and awards are fleetingly exciting things; they’re not enough for me to become complacent. The creation of music should continue,” he says, adding that he is extremely grateful for where he is today. “There’s a beautiful adrenaline boost to know that people all over the world care about your music so much.”

Catch It Live

What: Ustad Shujaat Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain in Concert

Where: Modern School, Barakhamba Road

When: February 13

Timing: 7pm onwards

Nearest Metro Station: Barakhamba Road Metro Station on Blue Line

Oscars 2024: From Nominees to Red Carpet Glam! Get Exclusive Coverage on HT. Click Here

Get more updates from Bollywood, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    author-default-90x90

    Nikita Saxena writes on Art, Culture and Campus, for the daily Entertainment & Lifestyle supplement, HT City

SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Friday, March 29, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On