Mumbai, Feb 20 Director Ram Madhvani, who is known for ‘Neerja’ and ‘Aarya’, has shared that he has taken up singing lessons. He shared that he has been practicing singing for the past year and a half.
The director said although he learnt music during his formative years at his boarding school in Panchgani, he recalled how singing invoked a higher force within him, sparking an interest that stayed with him through the years. However, it wasn’t until recently that he actively pursued singing, guided by Shruti Vishwanathan, the song consultant on his upcoming series ‘The Waking of a Nation’.
Madhvani shared, “I started learning how to sing in the last year, a year and a half, actually. I have my teacher, Shruti Vishwanathan, who was the song consultant on The Waking of a Nation, and she is just incredible. You must hear her voice. So, I started learning Kabir because Kabir is a part of ‘The Waking of a Nation’”.
Ram was inspired by the lead actor, Taaruk Raina, who has sung four songs in the series. To make his performance authentic, Taaruk took lessons from Shruti to sing Kabir’s timeless verses. Leading Ram Madhvani’s interest in learning Kabir’s dohas, a journey that even led him to Luniakhedi, a small village near Indore, where he met Prahlad Tipanya, one of the foremost singers of Kabir’s poetry.
He humbly acknowledged his own musical limitations while praising his wife, Amita Madhvani, saying, “Amita is, by the way, a good singer, and to her, it comes naturally”.
He also shared his experience of discovering his voice in speech. He recalled how working with actors made him aware of the power of voice modulation.
He further mentioned, “I actually learned this from some of the actors I was working with. When I was doing interviews with them, I’d say, ‘Hello, how come your voice changed?’ And this is what they started doing, their voice started coming from their stomach, and therefore, it all sounded much better at this timbre”.
As ‘The Waking of a Nation’ gears up for its much-anticipated release, Madhvani is determined to continue his musical journey.
“Singing is a great portal to yourself, so once the show releases, I shall basically continue learning. And someday, have the courage to actually go out there and sing a Kabir folk doha”, he added.
‘The Waking of a Nation’ is set to premiere on March 7, 2025, on SonyLIV.
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