Classical singer Balachandra Prabhu brings focus back on radio

Hindustani classical vocalist

Balachandra Prabhu

, who shot to fame with his soulful renditions in

Apurva Kasaravalli

’s multi-starrer Kannada film Niruttara, was recently part of a special recording session at

All India Radio

(AIR),

Mangaluru

. He strongly feels that more needs to be done to revive people’s interest in classical music through radio.

“There used to be a time when AIR would broadcast special programmes 24x7, focusing particularly on classical music. But those have now been limited to just a once-in-a-week show. Contrary to popular belief, there are still a lot of people — be it the connoisseurs or listeners in rural areas — who are loyal to the radio. There should be more support from the government,” says the B-high artiste, who received his formal music training in Hubballi and completed his MBA from Belagavi. The singer, who had also released two independent music videos recently, was at

AIR Mangaluru

to perform at an annual singing session with staff artistes.