He has started on a film career at 44. Born to a family that was steeped in spiritual music,Tochi Raina wandered into the charts with O pardesi (Dev D),Iktara (Wake Up Sid) and Gal meethi meethi bol (Aisha). His latest track Dilli (No One Killed Jessica) is now making waves. Why did you start out so late in films? I come from a family of Sufi saints and musicians. I trained in music from the late Pandit Vinod Kumar Mudgalji and many other teachers. I was always different from everyone,and still am,like I was fond of just wandering in the jungles all by myself,a loner who went and sat watching the moon and was into meditation. It was only at 43 that I recorded my first film song for Sanjay Chowdhurys A Wednesday!. The promo song O bullehshah was for the video and the film itself was released the following year. Did your family look down on your entry into films? No,this is one more way to reach where I want to go,in a way a new form of meditation. My paternal uncle,Ratan Singh Raina,used to be a violinist in movies and even composed music for a film in the 1960s. So how did the first break happen? I came down to Mumbai in 2003. I first met Dev (Anand)saab who was very impressed with my voice and said that it had a melting quality - Tumhari awaaz makkhan jaisi hai,he told me. I took his blessings and set about finding out the history of cinema and music. I somehow felt that it was necessary to understand that to start off and stay in this field. I then met Amit Trivedi,who is like my brother today. His family treats me like their own. He gave me my breakthrough song,O pardesi (Dev D),the male version of Iktara (Wake Up Sid!) and Gal meethi meethi bol (Aisha) and now Dilli in No One Killed Jessica. Are you trying to meet other composers as well? Yes,I am. Pritamji is an old friend,I am in touch with him,but I know that he will call me only if he has the right song for me. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy called me for a song once,but I was committed elsewhere. I explained this to Shankar and he has promised me that they will give me a song soon. I would also love to sing for A.R.Rahman and Vishal-Shekhar. Is there any song that is coming up? I have sung several songs for the youngest composers like Manish J.Tipu,Vishal Khurana,Sandeep Goswami and Shamir Tandon. What about albums? I have finished recording an album - it has music by a band called Jammer. Do you compose yourself? Yes,I do. I also do shows. In one of my shows,a young child came up to the stage from the audience and told me,Uncle,I want to learn music from you. That showed that I am doing the right thing and am being successful at the message I want to give to the world. What is that message? That we are going against the wishes and plans of God. Ussne kya sochke duniya banayi aur hum kya kar rahe hain! He created nature for us,for our well-being,and we are replacing the trees and plants with concrete jungles. Even the sunlight comes to us with reduced potency because it first reflects on so many buildings! God is angry with us,which is why there is so much sickness,so much sorrow. How can we forget and neglect Nature? Are you into fusion and Western music? We have such a huge treasury of music that we must attract Westerners with the right fusion. I am into jazz because jazz and Sufi have a lot in common. The approach is different,unconventional,tedha. I cannot walk in the predictable straight path. What is your take on the kind of loud,supposedly Sufi music heard nowadays in films and pop? Music belongs to the Almighty. He has given a different kind of mindset to different people. Everyone has his own soch and is doing his own kind of work. rajiv.vijayakar@expressindia.com
