I am open to composing music for Bollywood: Ayan

He is an established Sarod player, he has hosted television shows, he has penned a book and now wants to compose music for Bollywood movies.

Ayan Ali Khan, the younger son of Sarod legend Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is a bundle of talent. Recently during a performance in the capital he said, “If anyone offers me an opportunity, I am open to composing music for Bollywood films”.

The winner of MTV Asia’s ‘Most Stylish Person Award’ last year along with his elder brother Aman, Ayan may not fit in to the stereotype of an Indian classical musician, but he is determined to make Sarod a popular instrument among the masses.

“I want to make the Sarod as popular as the guitar. It is a collective mission of our entire family,” he told PTI.

When asked about the challenges of carrying forward the legacy of his legendary father, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ayan says,”It feels very fortunate and overwhelming to belong to such a great family.” “We are trying our best to carry forward his legacy,” he says.

Having performed in music concerts and shows all over the world, Ayan refuses the belief that Indian classical music is loosing it’s popularity among the young generation.

“Wherever we have performed, a whole lot of youths have come to listen to our concerts. Large venues have been sold out. So, I do not think there is any problem at all,” he says.

The Bangash brothers, after the massive success of their last album ‘Reincarnation’ are now ready with their new venture ‘Mystic Dunes’. “It is a theme based album and the theme is desert,” he says.

“For this particular project, we were given specific guidelines to work on sounds related to the deserts. So it was really challenging,” he says.

“We had put on the hat of a composer to create the sounds. It was hard work,” he says.

While, the duo experimented with many different sounds for ‘Mystic Dunes’, Ayan loves to go back to pure Indian classical music after all the fusion and experimentation.

“We are also doing real classical work. Recently, we played only pure classical tunes in a programmme in Kolkata,” he says.

Asked about his chemistry with elder brother Aman, he shoots back with a question, “After watching us perform together, what do you think ?” “Well, when you know the person you are performing with so well, it becomes really easy. He is a wonderful musician,” he adds with a smile on his face.

Ayan has also taken to painting recently with his work titled ‘Khushi’ being sold for a whopping six and a half lakh in a charity auction.

“I paint only for charity. It is certainly not my career. I am happy with what I am doing,” he says.

— PTI

 

Categories: Bollywood Music