Filmmaker Ram Madhvani’s tendency to favour music that is spiritual, philosophical, and traditional isn’t new. Celebrated for deftly crafting the Sushmita Sen-led Aarya (2020), and Sonam Kapoor’s Neerja (2016), Madhvani points out that both projects employed spiritual works that the Indian audience was familiar with, a development that, he believes, was crucial in grabbing their attention. Evidently then, the National Award-winning filmmaker’s decision to continue the tradition with The Waking of a Nation was only fitting.
Taaruk Raina plays a young lawyer who aims to uncover a conspiracy
Touted as a tale based on true events, the Sony Liv show that airs on March 7 features actor Taaruk Raina as Kantilal Sahni, a young lawyer who attempts to uncover the truth behind the British conspiracy surrounding the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The show follows the Hunter Commission’s inquiry, which investigated the massacre, and uncovers a conspiracy to cover up the truth behind it.
Instead of turning to spiritual music, Madhvani chose to use this opportunity to put the works of Indian saint and poet Kabir on a pedestal. “For Kabir, all men are equal,” says Madhvani when asked about his decision to turn to the writer’s works. “In a project based on colonialism, prejudice, and racism, his works were apt to share our ideas.”
Ram Madhvani
In this interview, Madhvani joins composer Sameer Uddin, who has crafted the songs and the score of the show, to discuss why the music was crucial to the narrative.
Edited excerpts of the interview.
What made you turn to the works of Kabir for this project?
Ram: When we were writing The Waking of a Nation, we thought of ways in which we could reach out to people. Even in my previous works, like Aarya, in which I used the Bhagavad Gita, and Neerja (2016), where I’ve used the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra , I explored the idea of speaking philosophically and spiritually to the people of our country. So, I wanted to use [the works of] Kabir. They say there are actors who do method acting; I do method directing. A year and a half ago, I learnt to sing. I met Prahlad Tipanya, who is among the foremost singers of Kabir in the country, and stayed with him in Lunyakhedi [Madhya Pradesh] to understand the atmosphere.
I felt that one could reach out to people through his philosophies. One of the things about Kabir is that for him, all men are equal. Because this is a film about colonialism, prejudice, and racism, I felt this would be a nice way to share our ideas, thematically, and through music.
The reason [behind roping in] Sameer is because, in a way, he comes from a folk [background]. The melodies are his original works, and I knew that he’d be able to [do justice to the music]. [We wanted to celebrate the] folk tradition. That rootedness is what will strike a chord with people because that tune is already part of our culture.
Sameer: More than the melody, we were yearning for purity. We wanted to keep the music minimally intrusive, and still come up with something that was relevant and which could both work for the show and have a ‘standalone’ spirit. It can be intimidating to revisit the works of a veteran artiste. And I am no scholar. Finally, we narrowed it down to four [songs]. We didn’t try to be very crafty. After we’d create a basic structure, Shruti [Vishwanathan, song consultant] would correct the language and ensure that we were not spoiling the words.
Could you take us through the various songs?
Ram: There are four songs, all of which have been lip-synced. That’s one of the things that we are losing within Bollywood. And though they are lip-synced, they are rooted within the series. At no point will one feel like the [protagonist] is [randomly] breaking into a song sequence. One of the songs speaks about how life is momentary. We’ve been true to the language of Kabir.
Why do you believe the culture of lip-syncing, as you describe it, is relevant?
Ram: Javed saab [Akhtar] had once said, ‘Humare yahan jo cycle chalate chalate doodh wale aatein hai subah ko, woh gana sunte nahin, gana gaatein hai.’ That’s true. We don’t listen to songs, we sing them. Everybody is a singer in India. Music is in our blood, and we should not lose this tradition or shy away from it. I have not used lip-syncing in my songs so far, but, I’ve done it in this project. In my next film, I will be front-footed with it.
Sameer, today, when people are often offended over seemingly inconsequential things, how careful did you have to be while revisiting Kabir’s works?
In this environment, even if Kabir says something, people will point out his mistakes. It’s like the Charlie Chaplin syndrome—even Chaplin can come second in a fancy dress competition of him. So, I am not too worried. We were working with only four of his works, and Ram, of course, was there to ensure that we were [aligned] with the context. Ram said that he has been an ardent follower of Kabir’s work. In 2008, he had sent me a few of Kabir’s books too. I know the deep connection he has with his philosophy and movement. Then, we also had Shruti, who is a key [member] and a follower of this culture and movement. I must have broken a few rules, but I am fine with that because that’s what creators do.
Ram: Sameer has also done the background score of the project. There are two parts to it; one is the British part, and the other is the Indian part. Sameer managed to keep those worlds different and yet bind the entire [project] musically. It is genuinely worth listening to.
Sameer: If I’m chaos, Ram is order. Ram is method. I borrow from the noise, and he quantises it into information. Ram and I met way before the shoot began and made the songs and the themes. So, my work was done before the project even went on the floors. He then dressed up the show as he needed. He was clear about what he wanted, and that made my job easy. There are some beautiful textbook methods that he has applied, not just into the music, but even to the visuals.
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