The TV set in my house is more of a casting device used to stream the web wonderland on its large screen. It only comes to life with the sights and sounds of web series. Last night was a rare Saturday night when I turned to actual television - cable and all for the premiere of MTV Unplugged India Season 7. And I am glad I did. The silken voice of filmmaker and music director, Vishal Bhardwaj debuting the season, was just what the doctor ordered after a weary week.
With song remakes and smog laden days ruling the roost, this year, the acoustic unplugged format of the show is a joyous reminder of all things unadulterated. Bhardwaj or let’s just fondly call him VB, hit the right note when he reminded the audience of what acoustic means - ‘Nothing is electric. It’s all pure,’ and proceeded to sing the songs ‘he grew up with’.
As he kickstarted the episode with the Maachis song, Paani Paani Re, he took up the baton from Lata Mangeshkar. In his voice, the song acquired a powerful intimacy. With the melancholy intact, his smile imbued it with rich layers. The un-stagy set without the unnecessary accessory of a host not only broke the barriers between the singer and the live audience but also the TV darshak.
It was like meeting the artist in the sacrosanct space of his art - perhaps the most profound exchange, where the former bares his craft and the audience obliges with mindful attention as the piece rises to a crescendo. An untrained listener, like me, is seldom able to hear a composition and appreciate every instrument that went into weaving its tapestry. VB gently directed the viewers’ attention to these instruments.
He introduced the players which included the likes of Saskia Rao-de Haas, a virtuoso cellist and composer from the Netherlands, giving them due credit with a steady gaze of adoration and also invited us into his personal connections with the songs, with anecdotes. His candid admissions like, “ I don’t know what would happened to me, if I hadn’t met Gulzar,” preceding the songs lent them a moving quality. In this regard there were three high points of the show.
The first one was when VB shared the stage with Grammy-winning Hindustani classical music instrumentalist, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. His deft mastery of the Mohan Veena transformed Paani Paani Re. The second one was Rashid Khan’s rendition of O Saathi Re and the third was a personal one. VB revealed his place of inspiration. So it turns out that Char Dukaan in Landour is his favourite place to compose music. Two winters ago, I had the chance to visit the unassuming area in Mussourie and I am happy to corroborate that it does have a sublime, poetic vibe.
By the third song, my drawing room turned into a mehfil with the perfect mahaul. The format rightly shines a light on how less is more. As Bhardwaj himself rightly said in the show, “Limit karne se artist ki udaan badhti hai”. It’s perhaps this glorious restriction that made VB curiously experiment with his own arrangements on the show.
The episode would have been incomplete without the presence of Rekha Bhardwaj who can bring a Sufi transcendence to any composition. Her distinct enunciation of Ishqiya uplifted Dil Ka Mizaaj.
The only grouse with MTV Unplugged India is its, at times, clumsy editing, where it moves from the singer to the chorus abruptly, interfering with the smooth ebb of the music.
Here’s a list of the songs on the first episode.
- Paani Paani Re
- Pehli Baar Mohabbat
- Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji
- Chhod Aye Hum Woh Galiyan
- Dil Ka Mizaaj Ishqiya - Rekha Bhardwaj
- Hamari Atariya - Rekha Bhardwaj
- Naina Thug Lenge - Rashid Khan
The show will feature regulars like Papon and Farhan Akthar. Shankar Mahadevan will be performing for the first time, with his sons. The lineup also includes Armaan and Amal Mallik.
P.S. The lack of references and comparisons to Coke Studio was intentional.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)