Balabhaskar’s flights of melody made him a celebrity when he was still a student. One of the earliest stars of the Malayalam small screen, the ace violinist soon broke free from the medium and became a star in his own right with albums and live performances all over the world. Even as the trained classical musician’s violin exuded melody, he proved that nothing musical was taboo for him, be it ragas or rock.
Twenty-five years later, the ace violinist, who made his debut at the age of 12, is all set to relaunch his band with an international flavour, with new names and new sound experiments. To begin with, his new album in Hindi is getting ready. Three of the songs, with lyrics written by Neena Nair, a Dubai-based poet, are all done and Balabhaskar plans to release it as singles. “I will also be singing,” says the musician, who, obviously, does not believe in confining himself to a comfort zone.
Balabhaskar is moving from Balaleela to the Big Band and his plan is to include more of global and world music in his concerts and albums. “I have already played fusion with the big names in Indian music, legends like Ustad Zakir Hussain, Louis Banks, Mattannoor Sankarankutty…It has been a memorable and educative musical sojourn,” he says.
His Aha moment was during Inspire, a programme organised by Government College of Engineering, Barton Hill, in Thiruvananthapuram. “The students had invited 100 orphans for the programme and the concert was going full throttle when I invited Alvin, one of the invitees to sing. I had been told that he was a good singer. He sang ‘Enno njanente muttathorattathu…’, that tender number from the Malayalam film Amar Akbar Antony . That moment and that little child singing proved to be a flash of inspiration for me. It is not sympathy but recognition of a talent who should be a major rock star ten years from now,” he says.
As he saw Alvin become the cynosure of all eyes, Balabhaskar felt that this was what he wanted to do next – help youngsters dream big and hone their skills to ensure that their dreams come true. “For ten minutes Alvin was living his dream. His song touched a chord. It was the same dream that I had when I was a beginner. Then and there I decided that every year I would sponsor an indigent child’s music training and give him all the exposure he would need to become a confident musician,” he adds.
His new band performed at a labourers’ camp in Dubai on April 7. For Balabhaskar, it is these concerts that give satisfaction. “It is my personal dream and I intend to live that. Often, once a performer tastes success, he/she is forced to play the same track to satisfy audiences. I want to change that and arrive at a situation that is satisfying for a creative musician and the audience,” explains Balabhaskar.
The composer of three movies and several albums, however, points out that this does not mean he is moving away from his strong base of Carnatic music or even film music. “I believe I am taking my music one notch higher with this venture. The effort is tap the potential of world class musicians in India and abroad.”
