HYDERABAD: Remember the melodious notes of flute in the ‘Bombay Theme’? Every music lover and movie buff had it as their phone ringtone during college days. The man who created that magical music is flautist Naveen Kumar.
His fascination for the flute began at the age of seven when his father bought one for him; That musical journey henceforth has risen and is spreading throughout the world. He performed at the World Wind Festival at Vizag on Saturday and spoke to City Express about his work for the latest Aamir Khan movie Dangal.
“I used to play flute in high school when my headmistress was impressed and gifted me two flutes. I learnt Carnatic music in AU School of Fine Arts and later performed in All India Radio. Fortunately, my parents used to organised orchestras at home where I accompanied my brother Jyothi Kumar who used to perform on tabla,” shares Naveen.
“In 1984, when I was in college, I had to go for a tour to Chennai where I was introduced to Illayaraja. He advised me to finish my studies and come back but I told him this would be my life. Since then, there has been no looking back,” he adds.
After having worked with the maestro for three years, Naveen continued with Ramesh Naidu and AR Rahman. “Working with Rahman for the movie Bombay was an honour. He asked me to create the sound of a water drop falling on a leaf. Though he wasn’t happy with my first attempt, he called the second try the best,” recalls Naveen about that unforgettable tune.
He has some painful memories as well. He shared, “During my trip to Chennai in 90’s, there was a fire accident in the building. All my flutes including the one my father gave me were burnt. I thought this is the end of my music life, but my mother encouraged me to start struggling to get the best.”
“Fortunately, I got the best of the flutes of about in my collection from various parts of the world, including flute specially designed by me called ‘Naveen flute”. He has 300 flutes in his collection. The artiste always makes it a point to buy the local variant of the flute wherever he goes.
He has rendered music for Dangal, an upcoming Indian Hindi sports drama film of Aamir Khan.
“Through this festival, I made upcoming artistes show their talent. There are many artistes even in tribal areas who have to be recognised. Instruments used by them are still not known to many people. I will slowly trace out the tribal artistes. In this festival, we will make a fusion with Dhimsa dancers of Aaraku who would sing while dancing. Percussionist Sivamani and I are collaborating for this.”
“I hope more such vibrant festivals take place across the country so that more artists like me get to take part,” he signs off.