Anurag Saikia: Excited to introduce 500-year-old Borgeets to world music
Anurag Saikia is an Indian film score composer and music director hailing from Assam. He has established himself as a versatile music director with films like ‘Thappad’ and ‘Article 15’
Anurag Saikia is an Indian film score composer, music director and instrumentalist hailing from Assam. He is one of the youngest music composers to be awarded with Rajat Kamal for Best Non-Feature Film Music Direction for the award-winning Assamese language short film Yugadrashta. He is also the music director of multiple Bollywood movies like Article 15 and Thappad.
Anurag Saikia grew up listening to his father playing Mozart or Beethoven on the gramophone while his mother would start singing a Borgeet on the same scale in another part of their house. Now, 30-year-old Saikia — a National Award-winning musician — is on the verge of realizing his childhood dream called ‘Project Borgeet’, produced by Zeal Creations.
Borgeets (‘songs celestial’) are a collection of lyrical songs composed in 15th-16th centuries by poet-saint Srimanta Sankardeva and his disciple Madhabdeva, pioneers of Bhakti Movement in North East India, which were used as devotional songs during prayer services in monasteries, e.g. Satra and Namghar in Assamese culture. Borgeet has been representing the highest form of culture in the region for more than 500 years now.
‘Project Borgeet’ is an endeavour to bring out the universality of these holy songs that have remained unknown beyond a localized confinement for various reasons. This project encompasses hundreds of musicians from different corners of the globe in the process of production.
Raviraj Sinha catches up with him.
Tell us about your journey.
My journey started from a place called Moran, in upper Assam which is 8 hrs from Guwahati. I studied in Cotton College, Guwahati where I met musicians from Assam. From there, I went to study music in Chennai as I really like the Tamil culture and their music. I studied music from a very prestigious college called Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music (SAM). Then in 2011, I came to Mumbai to try my luck in the industry.
How did you get into the music?
I come from a family of musicians. My father is a folk music scholar. He was a principal of a college, but he is known for his contribution to folk music, specially Bihu. My mother is a folk singer and classical singer too. My maternal aunt is a radio artist.
What do you think of reality shows on singing like Indian Idol, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, The Voice etc?
I think it gives a real good platform to someone who can use it properly. There are many good talents that we have got from these TV shows. I think people who are taking them positively and working really hard are truly making a mark in the music industry.
What’s your take on the increasing influence of Punjabi pop on Bollywood music?
It’s not new, Punjabi music has been ruling since years because it’s really catchy and I think the trend will continue. So, if the story of a film demands such music, I see no reason why it should not be used. But as it is said, too much of everything is bad, so it should be used for a correct project in an appropriate manner.
Assam has a rich tradition of music. Do you or have you ever intended to bring it to Bollywood music?
There are a lot of tribes in Assam which have various kinds of folk music. Since childhood I have travelled through most of the north east like Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh. I have been learning and researching a lot so If the story or script demands then I am game for it but since I am from that region, naturally it comes to me as it is my identity and I don’t stop that flow. If I get a project that is based on the North East, I will definitely incorporate some folk music.
What is your take on the culture of remixes in Bollywood? we don’t seem to have original music nowadays in Hindi cinema...
I think the culture of remix started long back. There was remix in the 90’s too but it was not in film. Although it is the decision of filmmakers and producers of course to take that call. It’s not like there is no original music being produced.
We have albums like Kabir Singh, which has done extremely well and all the songs are original, MS Dhoni, films by Vishal Bharadwaj Sanjay Leela Bhansali and even Anubhav Sinha have all original songs. So originals are happening and sometimes the film demands recreation. I remember the film Queen, where Amit Trivedi did this song called ‘hungama ho gaya’ which was matching and completely in sync with the theme. So I think that kind of recreation the new generation demands and through this people come to know about older songs too, the classics. Like it’s said, too much of anything is not good and of course the audience will take the final call on whether they like it or not.
Bollywood music till the 70s was brilliant and even today those songs are recalled and enjoyed. Does our music industry lack talent now to create such forever green melodies?
There are very good Bollywood melodies from the 80s and 90s too. There are very good creations by Jatin Lalit, Anu Malik, AR Rehman saab, Illayaraja saab, Vishal Shekhar, Salim Suleiman, Amit Trivedi etc. There are a lot of good things happening.
It all about times and we can’t say that there is lack of talent.
Reviving 500-year-old culture is quite challenging. How did Project Borgeet happen to you?
It’s not reviving a 500-year-old culture; it is still happening and is being practised in our place. Our effort is to introduce it to the world music. I really want everyone to listen to it. We need to take the names of Srimanta Sankardeva and Sri Sri Madhavdeva who have created borgeets. It’s more than folk music, its original music created in the 15-16th century that the whole world needs to treasure. This is the whole idea behind Project Borgeet.
Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Google News, Instagram
Join our official telegram channel (@nationalherald) and stay updated with the latest headlines