Exclusive! Joy Sarkar on Rudrabinar Obhishaap: We created a new raag for the show

The second season of Vikram Chatterjee and Rupsa Chatterjee’s Rudrabinar Obhishaap was dropped on Hoichoi on Friday. While the show received lukewarm reviews, the music of the show has generally been appreciated. The composer Joy Sarkar created a new raag, Sanjivani, for the show. In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, the musician shares his thoughts on a raag creation, the influence of Indian classical music and how poet Srijato and singer Jimut Roy helped him in the process of composition. 

Rudrabinar Obhishaap is a spinoff of Tansener Tanpura, which explores the secrets of musical family and gurukul through a mysterious treasure hunt. Alaap (Vikram) and Shruti (Rupsa) decode musical hints to reach their destination. Similarly, in Rudrabinar Obhoshaap, they decode further clues to find rag Sanjivani, which brings life to the lifeless. 

“Creating new raag is a common practice among Indian classical musicians. Pt Ravi Shankar, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and many other musicians composed new raag. Sometimes, two existing rags are blended together to create something new,” explains Joy. 

However, the composer here has tried to compose a raag in less complicated means. “I was aware that this composition is not for a classical music conference but to fit in a mainstream web series. Also, creating a full-blown raag is a complicated thing. I am not that qualified. I composed Alaap, Bandish and taan by pursuing lesser-used raag. It is a new raag but not as nuanced or complex as senior musician’s compositions,” he says. 

Joy also emphasises the contribution of poet Srijato, who has penned the Bandish. “Srijato comes from a classical musicians’ family. He is well-versed in the language of classical Bandish. For the Raag Sanjivani, he has penned a very suitable bandish that has fitted perfectly well with the composition. Meanwhile, Jimut Roy, who did the playback, has also helped me do the research, etc,” the musician informs.