On a patriotic note

To commemorate the 64th Republic Day of India, music composer Dhruv Dhalla has put together a special version of Vande Mataram. Sung by sufi singer Kavita Seth and Dhruv himself, it is a “fusion track” that Dhruv composed after being inspired by music legend AR Rahman.

“I have always been a huge fan of Rahman. When I heard his rendition of Vande Mataram years ago, I was very inspired to do something similar and compose my own version of the song. But since he had already created this larger-than-life version of the song, I decided to do mine in a simple manner,” says Dhruv, who has composed for films like Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye and Tere Bin Laden. Dhruv describes the song as a “fusion track with Indian sensibilities and an international treatment.” “The melodies are simple, very earthy and old school,” he explains. “Kavitaji has added the right sufi component to it. You will be surprised to see how it changes from a sufi song to a very modern track and then a patriotic melody with a western arrangement. And then when you hit the chorus it suddenly sounds like a rock anthem.”
And while Dhruv insists that he isn’t a singer, he felt just right to lend his voice for this song. The concept came to him while he was in Delhi for another project and was urged by a lyricist friend to make a patriotic song. The video has been recorded in just a day and will be available on the India Music Network — a new digital music channel. “I had spoken to Kavitaji and told her about the idea and she said she was very keen. And she added some amazing alaaps and her sufi flavour — just how I wanted it to be,” adds Dhruv.

Kavita, however, describes the song as a romantically patriotic one. “It’s got poetry, emotions, feelings... It is both subtle and real. I’m sure this version will touch people’s soul,” she states.