Rekha Bhardwaj is a classical musician at heart. We ask her about the process that goes into gearing up for a concert and her instant response is, “Well, I do my riyaaz (practice) everyday. So there’s nothing special that I need to do as far as voice and its training are concerned.”
However, when her band Azzizon ki Toli has a two-month gap between shows, the group meets for a jamming session, quickly running over the music it is familiar with and has made its own, and then focussing instead on how to structure and present new compositions in a way that is spontaneous and seamless. “It helps that I have a very talented team that likes to experiment and innovate without ever distorting its core, its melody. I always encourage them to do that,” Rekha adds, taking time outfrom a very busy performance season.
Azzizon ki Toli found its genesis in 2009 when Rekha, who shares her last name with her husband, filmmaker and music composer Vishal Bhardwaj, began performing on stage. As a “ sanyasan from the Osho ashram”, Rekha says her name was Aziz — meaning beloved — in the fraternity. “When I was looking for a name for the band, Gulzarji suggested Azzizon ki Toli, literally translating to a group of those scented in their hearts.”
Best known in the industry as a playback singer, who has under her belt a host of soulful and sensational tracks — ‘Genda phool’, ‘Kabira’, ‘Phir le aaya dil’, just to give you an idea — Rekha Bharadwaj’s upcoming performance titled Cinema Soul is an organic journey through the music she is best known for. But what will enhance this concert is the band’s constant quest to layer every song with a dimension of their own. “Basically, even though you’d know Kabira, for instance,” she explains, “We try to play along the interlude and other portions to give it a different sound and feeling. There are just a handful of songs that we decide to retain as is, because any kind of experiment will strip it off its beauty.”
For Rekha, the concert in Chennai also marks her first-ever performance here. By her own admission, setting foot into a new city, with little know-how of its audience, is a bit “unnerving. I’m anxious and excited at the same time.” Rekha has performed in the past in Hyderabad and Bengaluru to very warm and receptive audiences. “I know that Chennai has a very musically discerning audience so I’m hoping to also present — in addition to my repertoire — a thumri , a ghazal by Jagjit Singh or Farida Khanoum, depending on how the audience responds.”
Rekha Bhardwaj will perform at the 14th edition of The Hindu November Fest on Saturday, November 17, at The Music Academy, 7.30 pm.
