Anoushka Shankar follows in her legendary father’s footsteps

Renowned sitarist Anoushka Shankar will compose music for the opening song of the Bengali film Avijatrik. The film marks Madhur Bhandarkar’s foray into Bengali cinema as a filmmaker. Avijatrik directed by Subhrajit Mitra is based on the concluding part of the Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s epic novel Aparajito, on which the Apu trilogy — Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956) and The World of Apu (1959) — was based.Anoushka’s father, the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar had composed music for the trilogy directed by Satyajit Ray.
Speaking about composing for a film for the first time, Anoushka said, “I wouldn’t say I am giving music, but I’ve made a very small contribution to the soundtrack by playing my sitar for the opening. It was really lovely to get to do that for this really special project.” About following her father’s footsteps, she said, “My father contributed such iconic music to the original trilogy that it is still remembered the world over. So, I’ve obviously grown up knowing and loving that music. To play a small part with the continuation of that story feels beautiful.”