‘FARHAN – LIVE’ TO REACH AUSTRALIA

As he leads his band Farhan-Live for a concert in Melbourne and Sydney this February, team Indusage caught up with the ‘All Rounder of Bollywood’ – Farhan Akhtar quipping him about music and his eternal love for it!
The man has more than just a popular surname . He has unmatchable talent, wit and a charm that comes ofcourse, with being superbly talented. But most of all , it is his voice and more so , the magic he creates with it that draws-him to the spotlight and you to him!

He can act, sing, compose, write and direct. But most of all he can make you go weak in your knees when he croons. Ask him how it all started and he explains it to be “a process”- one that resulted from being intrigued by music. He explains how as a child, he would listen to background scores of films and try to phonetically transcribe them in his own way. This went on till he formally trained in playing ,first the harmonium and later the guitar. Music took a backseat while he pursued filmmaking , but as Lakshya and Rock On came along, it got rekindled. He pushed the envelope further when he came up with the concept of MARD- Men Against Rape and Discrimination and utilised music to strengthen the idea.

And here he is ,taking it a step further with Farhan-Live- a band that he started in 2013 with Shannon Donald , Sarosh Izedyar , Anurag Rao , Darshan and Umang Doshi, Anupam Deghatak, Dibyajoti Nath and Ashish Saksena. The focus of the band , he says would be to create original content beyond the film space, one that truly expresses himself. He believes that music has a power-the power to invoke memories. Therefore, he wants to use ‘music and not just lectures’ to change mindsets. He discusses how a collaboration with Google has led him to compose a song along with Salim-Sulaiman titled Choo Le Aasman on women’s empowerment.

His initiation into music , he says can be credited to The Beatles. He also dubs his family’s approval to be of immense importance – in giving him strength and support.
Ask him how he juggles between films and music, and pat comes the reply, “Personal time is very flexible. If you truly want to find time to do something, you will make time somehow or the other.”

The man sure knows that from personal experience. He promises loads of entertainment to the crowds in Melbourne and Sydney when he performs there on 7th and 8th February respectively. He also conveys his excitement at returning to Australia after very long , and more so in a different capacity. He signs off with a request to the people to “carry their voices because” he says “ you will be asked to sing.” Well you can’t say no to this man ; of course not, he’s FARHAN AKHTAR afterall !