00:00Good to speak to you. It's been a while since we've last spoken and lots of things have happened. So tell me what's up.
00:30So Gandhi has been a hero of mine for my entire life. And in fact, all three of my Grammy Award winning projects,
00:59all three of them had one song on Gandhi. So I always wanted to make a full album on Gandhi.
01:04And two years ago, I first met Nobel Peace Prize winner Kaila Satyarthi. And Kaila Satyarthi and me did a project together.
01:14And also we traveled the whole of India together doing concerts. And during that time, both of us decided that we have to make an album on Gandhi
01:23because the world needs to get a refresher course on Gandhi because, you know, because this world is so divided.
01:30There is so much of violence, so much of hatred. And I think Gandhian values will be good to spread in this world.
01:36So we created this album based on that. And one of the songs on this album is Be The Change, the song that you are talking about.
01:43And Be The Change features a 75-piece orchestra, which I recorded in New York.
01:48Yes, sir.
01:49Along with that, it also features, the video features Vilas Nayak, who's a Bangalore boy.
01:53Yes, sir.
01:54So Vilas Nayak is a very, very good artist, very acclaimed artist. And he's very famous all over the world for his speed painting.
02:01So in three and a half minutes, he created this beautiful painting on Gandhi.
02:05And we filmed that. And that is basically the music video that we released.
02:09Sir, I mainly do concerts all over the world. So that is what keeps me very busy.
02:34Like, for example, last year in 2024, I did more than 70 concerts in more than 30 countries.
02:42This year also, already I finished about 15 countries. So I do a lot of concerts, and that's what keeps me busy.
02:49And for me, the thing is that I've always liked doing independent music. I like doing music based on what I feel strongly about.
02:55Like, I like to celebrate our country. So I make music, as you mentioned, on Independence Day for, you know, for a national anthem.
03:04I did a version of the national anthem where I conducted a hundred piece orchestra. Same thing about Gandhi, about environment, about positive social impact, about climate change.
03:15I like making songs on that. So that is why the film industry is something that has not interested me, because the film industry is based on what somebody else's ideas are.
03:24You know, a director's ideas, a producer's ideas, a script's ideas.
03:28Okay.
03:28For me, I like making music based on what I love and what I want to make and what I want to communicate through my music.
03:35Okay.
03:35So, I believe that, you know, there are so many problems in this world. Okay. So many problems. There is climate change. There is air pollution, plastics pollution, deforestation.
04:00So many social issues like poverty, there is hunger, there is malnutrition, gender violence, water, sanitation problems.
04:09I believe that, you know, the best way to communicate all of these problems, the solutions, and to create awareness on these problems is through music.
04:18Because we can make many speeches, and people will not change their behavior. We can make, we can, you know, we can show scientific data, which is very important.
04:29And that also will not change behavior. So I believe what is important is for, you know, musicians to take these complex ideas and thoughts,
04:37and to simplify through the emotional language of music. And when you simplify through the emotional language of music,
04:43it will hit the hearts and souls of people. And that is what will inspire change.
04:47And that's the reason why I like making music to create a message of awareness or to showcase solutions or to very complex problems through music.
04:58So, as I mentioned, when it comes to films, it is always based on somebody else's sensibilities.
05:03And also, I would like to do films, but it's very important that the film has to have a very strong social cause.
05:10That is very important for me. If it is just about entertainment, then I'm not interested in doing the film.
05:16And of course, I've done lots of Kannada songs, but these Kannada songs have always been independent.
05:21Like, for example, I created this song called Ni Badaladre, which is based on Gandhi's quote of Be The Change You Want To See.
05:28And it says, like, you know, the lyrics say that,
05:30You know, so that's what it talks about, you know, that you have to be the change that you want to see in this world.
05:40And then another song I did with H.S. Venkatesh Murthy, who passed away.
05:45I did a song called, called, which is celebrating the natural world of Kannada.
05:51And that also, beautiful lyrics like,
05:52So, beautiful lyrics that he had written.
06:01Another song that I collaborated with H.S. Venkatesh Murthy was to celebrate Kaveri, and it is called Amma Kaveri.
06:07So, that also is there on YouTube.
06:09So, another song called, which is based on traditional, you know, folk music.
06:16So, I like doing these Kannada songs, but they have to be independent.
06:22Or if it is part of the film industry, then it has to, the film itself, has to have a very strong social cause.
06:29The thing is that, you know, winning these awards is always very good, because, like, you know, winning the Grammy Award.
06:37You know, at the age of 33, I won my first award.
06:39That is in 2014.
06:41And growing up in Bangalore, growing up in India, making independent music, I never felt that it was even possible, you know, to win an award like that.
06:50You know, and then after that, winning one award, then after that, winning three awards, and being the youngest ever, you know, Grammy Award winner from India.
06:58It feels very, very good.
06:59And then, of course, like, you know, being, getting recognition within India also this year, I won the Padmasri Award.
07:05So, getting recognition from here also, it feels very good.
07:08And it also gives me a lot of encouragement that, you know, I made some very difficult choices while growing up in music.
07:15One is, of course, as you mentioned that, you know, it is understood that in India, that if you are a musician, you have to be part of the movie industry.
07:22Like, for example, when I tell people I'm a composer, the first question they ask me is, which film have you composed music for, you know?
07:29Because people feel that, you know, music has to be in a film.
07:32You know, music cannot be independent.
07:33So, I believe that, you know, these awards are important because, you know, it gives you a platform, especially because my music is about a social cause.
07:43So, whenever, with each and every award that I win, it gives the music and the message a platform so that more and more people listen to the music and more and more people understand the message that I'm trying to give through the music, you know?
07:56And also understand the topics that I'm trying to create awareness on.
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