He might be popular for his superhit movie numbers, but Sid Sriram’s musical personality extends to concepts beyond films. He’s currently giving final touches to his upcoming grand production — Pibare Rama Rasam (The essence of leadership) — that hopes to musically explore Lord Rama and his leadership qualities. The performance will be this year’s musical event for AIKYA, a series of annual concerts that celebrates the oneness of India through music.
Sid is arranging the music and curating this show, that will also feature other musicians including S Karthik, Shree Sunderkumar, Praveen Sparsh, L Ramakrishnan, Leon James, Ravi Shankar Iyer, Mylai Karthikeyan and Rahul Vellal. In an interview, Sid tells MetroPlus how this concert came about and why he’s excited about it. Excerpts:
When did the concept come about?
In early November, the folks at Global Adjustments reached out to me and briefed me on the basic concept of the show. Pibare... completely resonated with where my creative energy is. I’m quite excited about it, because the last four months have been a culmination of my different musical streams coming together. It involved a lot of thinking and experimentation about taking this large concept and chiselling a musical production out of it.
How challenging was it to curate such a production in which you have to work with many other musicians as well?
It’s a welcome challenge. Being able to work with such an all-star cast of musicians and craft a sound has been most exciting. My idea is to take the improvisational excitement that takes place with Carnatic music and juxtapose that in different sonic contexts.
While the song list has traditional Carnatic songs and bhajans , I’ve also composed a couple of theme pieces that will run through the concert.
A video of your musical interaction with 10-year-old singer Rahul Vellal is popular on social media. How was that experience?
It was like a flashback... because he reminded me of myself 20 years ago. That he’s interested in Carnatic music at this age was heartening. The best thing about Rahul is his willingness to learn. It makes mentoring so easy. I advised him to focus on the craft, rather than on name and fame. I’m glad that he’s on board for a song in this production.
Your avatar as a film singer is quite popular. How would you convey to your fans of film music to warm up to other musical experiences?
Any musical output is emotional. Film is obviously a popular medium and my work has thankfully been cutting edge, especially my songs with ARR sir. What I’ve realised with my experience in different musical forms, is that they’re all, at the end of the day, emotional output. When I performed at the December Music season, I saw a huge translation of my fans from film music coming to my kutcheri s. Ultimately, you’re looking for a soulful experience when you listen to any form music. For a fan who hasn’t come to a non film-show, Pibare ... would be perfect — there’ll be semi-classical songs that will presented in a context that’s modern. The goal is to bridge multiple musical worlds together.
In this concert, you’re showcasing leadership qualities musically. If there’s any other trait that you’d like to explore musically on stage, what would it be?
I’d love to explore vulnerability, its different dimensions and what comes with this emotion.
Pibare Rama Rasam will be held on March 10 (6.30 pm) at The Music Academy. For donor passes, call 7299912605 or 044-40435050. Proceeds support women’s education and retiring musicians.
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