Sipping cold coffee at a South Mumbai hotel, Rahul Sharma looks vastly different from the rest of his ilk. But Pandit Shivkumar Sharma's son Rahul doesn't take his classical musician status too seriously.
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It's as natural as the unruly locks and theu00a0 faded jeans. All excited about performing tomorrow at the ongoing Swaranjali music concert at the Nehru Centre, Worli, Rahul chats to CS about being a new age Indian classical musician:

An evening to remember
I am really looking forward to the concert for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it's a great feeling to be part of something that has the likes of Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Prabhakar Karekar, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (whom Rahul's known as a kid) and Girija Devi.

Secondly, I love performing in the evening as it builds up a great mood. My favourite evening ragas are Bhopali, Yaman and Purya Kalyan. One of the things I love best about classical music is that there's a raga for every part of the day, whether it's dawn, sunrise or night.u00a0

Breaking boundaries
Throughout the year, I perform across India as well as countries like Australia, England and USA. Westerners love music that's purely Indian. We have heard about the kind of fan following people like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Jasraj or my father have enjoyed.

But they are equally enthusiastic to listen to the new breed of Indian classical musicians. So, I feel it's up to us to keep up the high standards set by the veterans and popularise Indian music across the globe.

Playing the santoor has always been my first priority. Though I got a number of film offers after the success of Mujhse Dosti Karoge, my first film as a composer, I didn't take them up. Composing film music is a time consuming process and I didn't want to compromise on my classical music concerts.

Then, I came out with 10-15 albums. I am glad I took the decision to halt my Bollywood career as I could focus on the santoor. Now that I have consolidated myself, I can take up film projects.u00a0

Style in his jeans
Yeah, it's true that I don't appear like a classical musician at the first glance. It's a little surprising for those who associate us with a particular image. But I feel youngsters can identify with me as I look like one of them.
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Also, I find the idea of dressing up in a kurta-pyjama, just because you're a classical musician, strange. If you see young classical exponents like Anoushka Shankar, Amaan and Ayaan Ali, Rakesh Chaurasia, they all have their own individual style. Finally, it's talent and creativity that matters.

Who: Rahul Sharma
What: Talking about being the new-age classical musician
Where: At Marine Drive