Sufi music is taking ripples in the Bollywood music world. Well, why not, the music that soothes your mind, makes you feel serene is what needed in the current scenario. There are many singers that sing Sufi songs. But the voice of very few matches the waves of mind. Rituraj Mohanty is one of them, whose voice catches the waves of mind and adds tranquility.
Let’s have some introduction of famous singer Rituraj Mohanty
Born and brought up in Odisha, Rituraj was passionate about Sufi sangeet since childhood. He learned Indian Classical music from Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya , Bhubaneshwar. He met with a serious road accident when pursuing his graduation. He went into a state of coma for two weeks and was declared practically dead and because of this he left his singing. But after recovering from it, he moved to Mumbai for seeking a job.
He is the proud fan of Nusrat Sahab and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. As well as he is the very Bhakt of none other than Himesh Reshamiya, the famous Bollywood actor and singer. He had a poster of Himeshji on one wall and poster of Goddess Saraswati on other wall (laughs).
He was selected in a reality show, India’s Raw Star Reality Show by Yo Yo Honey Singh by seeing his singing style and passion. He also sang the song “Sahib” in a Bollywood movie “Bhoothnath returns”.
He sang the famous song “Maula” from Bangistan, which was enormously famous because of the charming and soothing voice of Rituraj Mohanty.
Filmymantra feels privileged to interview this great singer. Here are the sneak peeks of the interview have a look:
Answering to the Question, How did “Maula” Happen?
Rituraj: I worked with Ram Sam path (music composer, Bangistan). He called me in to sing “Maula” and said, pehle lyrics ko samajh aur phir gaane ko bus phaad de. Initially, I wasn’t getting the feel of the song. I tried to understand the lyrics. I went back to my childhood and related my memories to what the song meant. It sums up the story of Bangistan. When we are kids, we don’t make distinctions between people but as we grow up, all kinds of divides arise. However, God is one, and people have different ways of approaching him. I haven’t seen God, but there must be someone who stirs the leaves, who looks after all beings, who gives us rest at night. Once I got this, the recording went smoothly. I must have sung Maula four times to get it right. Farhan Akhtar who was co-producer of Bangistan specially came to hear Maula, saying it takes him on a very different trip. It was like a win win moment for me!
You can watch the interview with Rituraj Mohanty :
