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Chennai / The New Indian Express

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Cinema meets symphonic grandeur

Long before social media feeds and streaming platforms made the new generation feel in touch with Bollywood, people in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere in south India were humming melodies of Raj Kapoor. His hit songs rode the waves of radio, and listeners were left hungry for more. And when All India Radio (AIR) curtailed film-music broadcasts in the early 1950s, the void was filled by Radio Ceylon, which launched a Hindi-film-song service and struck gold. In a sense, Radio Ceylon did for the 1950s and 60s what social media does for young fans today: it kept people connected to the film industry, let new hits spread far beyond regional boundaries, and made Bollywood and icons like Raj Kapoor a part of everyday life. And while today we hear those hit songs through remixes and modern renditions, the South Asian Symphony Orchestra (SASO) is bringing to Chennai, those very songs but in an hour-long orchestral performance; restoring their sweep, romance, and grandeur in a way that has been neither heard nor seen before. But it doesnt end there. The concert goes beyond revival as SASO is also weaving select Mozart pieces into the programme, creating a musical symphony where European classical structures meet the sweeping emotion of Hindi cinema. SASOs conductor and music director, Alvin Arumugam, says that the idea came to him quite differently. At first, I thought we would perform one of Mozarts symphonies because they are only 20 to 30 minutes long. But then, I decided against it and thought of bringing together some of Mozarts most popular pieces. That is how we arrived at his Symphony No. 40, Molto allegro (first movement) his most famous aria called La ci darem la mano , and also the Lacrimosa . All of this, of course, along with the best hits of Raj Kapoor to celebrate his centenary. Nirupama Rao Alvin believes that the audiences may appreciate Mozart more when he shares the stage with Raj Kapoor because the cultural connection may help. Once listeners arrive for the music they already love, they become more receptive to the music they havent yet discovered, and Mozarts brilliance may then land with greater immediacy and meaning, he hopes. For Nirupama Rao, the founder of the South Asian Symphony Foundation and the creator of SASO, this amalgamation is simply a way to let universality breathe through local soil. Harmony begins with listening. Their differences dont create discord; they create counterpoint independent lines woven together with trust and curiosity, she says. But the real challenge for the orchestra wasnt rehearsing Mozart. His scores exist in immaculate black-and-white, where every note is mapped. The true mountain, he says, was writing an orchestral arrangement for Raj Kapoors songs. While there are extensive symphonic arrangements for Chinese music or folk music in the US, orchestral scores for South Asian and Indian music remain surprisingly scarce. As part of SASOs mission, we have been trying to bridge that gap. and this is our newest work, Alvin says, adding that an arranger, who studied orchestra at Berkeley and works with AR Rahman, wrote the arrangement for this upcoming concert over a months time. The conjoining of Raj Kapoors hits and the global symphonic tradition doesnt mean loosening Indias musical roots, Nirupama says. Instead, it expands the space in which those roots can grow. She points to the way China embraced orchestral music and emerged with artistes who became global ambassadors like Lang Lang. Look at the artistes who have emerged from this global tradition: Yo-Yo Ma, Danielle de Niese and of course our own Zubin Mehta. They step onto any stage and are understood immediately. We need young Indians who can carry our story into the global symphonic world with confidence and originality, she adds. Just the way India transformed cricket into its own art form, she believes the country can make the symphony orchestra a part of its cultural vocabulary. As for the upcoming concert in the city, with 60 performers on stage 30 in the chorus and 30 in the orchestra conductor Alvin likens the show to a four-course meal. In just one hour, he says, it cant be everyones favourite dish from start to finish. Like a fine meal, different sections are meant to satisfy in different ways: some will comfort, some will surprise, and a few may linger long after the last note. His hope is that, by the end, he feels that quiet fullness and that the audience tastes it too. What Nirupama looks forward to most isnt a grand solo or a spotlight moment. Its the way the orchestra will breathe as one entity. A melody goes straight to the emotional core. It dissolves distance, she notes. That is the heart of her mission as well, of using sound to stitch together a region often divided by politics and history. SASOs concert is scheduled to begin at 7 pm on November 30 at the MS Subbulakshmi Auditorium, at the Asian College of Journalism. (Inputs from Sruthi Hemachandran)

29 Nov 2025 6:20 am