Sandeep Thakur, a violinist from a western classical circuit. He has worked in movies like Mohabbatein, Chak De India, Aashiqui 2 and Dangal. He has rendered his talent to the likes of A R Rahman, Pritam, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Mithoon, Salim-Suleiman, Vishal-Shekhar and Amit Trivedi.
Now his sole mission is to popularize the instrument – Violin. Sandeep Thakur wants to change the way people are perceiving violin. Whatever small window it may be and he has already initiated his efforts with his YouTube Channel.
This talented musician has also been a part of the Dandiya Queen Falguni Pathak’s Ta Thaiya. Sandeep has done some smooth videos in collaboration with social media giants like Sanam, Studio Unplugged and Aakash Gandhi’s 88 Keys to Euphoria.
Sandeep Thakur speaks to FilmyTown:
What are Club Milennium and Peace of Mind Concerts you performed for?
Well, they are just peace concerts. The reason why I got actively involved with them is that whatever opportunity I get, I would like to promote the medium of violin apart from being part of such noble cause.
Since your sole intention is to bring awareness and more so to bring a liking and ignite a desire of the general public towards playing violin, why not come up with an album- which is created originally by you?
Yes. You are right on the dot. I aspire to do so, but you see that the ‘aam aadmi’ is so used to listening to popular Bollywood tunes, I am catering to that segment for the moment. But definitely in the very near future, FilmyTown would be the first to be informed about the launch of my Original creation.
You have performed live in India and abroad for the audience. How is the response?
I have performed at venues like The Royal Albert Hall, London with Nitin Sawhney and The Esplanade, Singapore for R D Burman instrumentals. I would be wrong to mention that I got thumping accolades. But somewhere I have noticed the positive attitude of the audience towards my music.
What is your step by step game-plan to popularize the playing of violin among the youth, especially in India where most of the young guys think of seeing around with a guitar around their shoulders as a cool ‘thing’?
You must have noted that in Bollywood playing Violin has seldom been glamorized except for instances in Mohabattein where Shahrukh Khan used it to convey his feelings throughout the film. Whereas in the west, there are several movies centered around playing of this instrument and the most notable one is that of Meryl Streep’s ‘Music of the Heart’ (1999) where she is the violin teacher in that musical classic.
What is the level of interest and acceptance of encouraging a child to go in for learning to play violin within the Indian families?
I have noticed one thing amongst us Indians. The father usually does not encourage his son or daughter to take up playing a violin as a subject or as a skill. Even the teachers are not available. Further, we see a lot of dropouts after 3-4 sessions of whatever serious violin learners we come across. People do not have the patience to learn and practice this gem of a musical instrument.
What do you do the other days of the year those days when you are not rendering your music for movies?
I perform in select night clubs. I agree with your statement that this is not yet caught up with the masses. But there is a class of people what appreciate my music, at times with standing ovation.
This is what makes me feel proud. That I have ignited a spark. The rest is left on the music lovers.
Sandeep Thakur
