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Niladri Kumar
Niladri Kumar
Background information
Born	1973
Origin	Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Occupation(s)	Sitar Maestro and Composer
Instrument	Sitar
Website	www.niladrikumar.com

Pandit Niladri Kumar is an Indian sitar player and music composer.

Early life

He was born to sitar player Kartick Kumar, a disciple of Ravi Shankar. He started learning sitar under his father at the age of four. Kumar gave his first public performance at the age of six at Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry.^[1]

Career

^[1] He was a part of the Masters of the Percussion tour alongside Zakir Hussain.^[2] Kumar has also worked with Jonas Hellborg and V. Selvaganesh on their album Kali's Son^[3] and with John McLaughlin on album Floating Point.^[4] Kumar has also worked with various music directors in Hindi cinema, including A.R. Rahman, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and Pritam.^[1] Niladri was conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi's Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, awarded to young musicians, in March 2007.^[5] Niladri has also won MTV Immies award for the Best Classical/Fusion Instrumental for his album If.^[1] ^[6] The concept initiated from a traveling sitar, which was modified by Kumar to create rock guitar sound out of it. Kumar reduced the number of strings on the instrument from 20 to five. He also added an electric pickup inside the instrument so that it would sound more like a guitar.^[1] His first full album composed using the instrument, titled Zitar, was released in 2008.^[7] Kumar wrote the first track for the album Priority in 2003. Over the next five years he improved the track and subsequent track by gauging audience reaction during live performances. He improvised the tracks adding components from various genres such as rock, electronic and lounge.^[1] He also won the MN Mathur Award in the 51st Maharana Kumbha Sangeet Samaroh for his contribution to Indian classical music in March, 2013. He is currently the Dean of Maya Somaiya College of Performing Arts.

Discography

Albums

2001: Together
2002: Revelation
2003: Dharohar
2003: Saanjh Sur
2003: If: Magical Sounds of Sitar
2005: Sitar Gaze
2005: Yoga Lounge (With Chinmaya Dunster)
2006: Forever
2006: De-Stress Revive (With Rupak Kulkarni)
2007: Chillout Forever
2007: Faith
2008: Zitar
2009: Priority
2011: Together (With Talvin Singh)
2013: Plucked
2014: Sur Yajna

Films

Bunty Aur Babli - Chup Chup Ke (Sitar)
Gangster - Na Jaane Koi (Zitar)
Omkara - Naina thag lenge (Sitar)
Life in a... Metro - Alvida (Zitar)
Life in a... Metro - In DIno (Zitar)
Dhoom 2 - Crazy Kiya Re (Zitar)
Dabangg 2 - Tore naina bade dagabaaz re (Sitar)
Maazii - Mora Jiya (Zitar)
Desi Boyz - Make Some Noise (Zitar)
Paheli - Dheere Jalna (Sitar)
7 Khoon Maaf - Aawara (Sitar)
My Name Is Khan - Tere Naina (Sitar)
Kalank- Ghar More Pardesiya (Sitar)
Baahubali: The Beginning - Manohari (Sitar)
Aashiqui 2 – Sunn Raha Hai (Sitar)
Laila Majnu
Kalank - Ghar more pardesiya
Dr. Arora - Mehram (Song Composer)
Dr. Arora - Khaalipan (Song Composer)

Music direction

Shorgul (Tere Bina) - Hindi Movie (2016)
Niruttara - (All songs) Kannada Movie (2016)
Laila Majnu - (Ahista Ahista, Tum, Hafiz Hafiz, Sarfiri, Tum Version 2) Hindi Movie (2018)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated Work	Result	Ref
2018	Mirchi Music Awards	Upcoming Music Composer of The Year	Aahista-Laila Majnu	Won	^[8]
2019	64th Filmfare Awards	Rd Burman Award For Upcoming Talent In Film Music	Laila Majnu	Won	^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Vijaykar, Rajiv (2008-10-03). "Zitar Power". Screen India. The Indian Express Limited. Archived from the original on November 19, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
^ Mitter, Siddhartha (2006-05-24). "Indian drummers find fascinating rhythms". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
^ "More Indian food than music in the West". Rediff.com. 2005-03-02. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
^ "Niladri Kumar takes the sitar to space age". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
^ "32 artistes get 'Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar'". Press Trust of India. The Hindu. 2007-03-23. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
^ "Mesmerising". Pune Newsline. Indian Express Newspapers Ltd. 2005-12-17. Retrieved 2009-05-03.^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Saregama offers history – and Priority too!". Screen India. The Indian Express Limited. 2008-08-29. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
^ "Winners at the Mirchi Music Awards 2019!". soundboxindia.com. 2019-02-20. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
^ "Winners of the 64th Vimal Elaichi Filmfare Awards 2019". filmfare.com. Retrieved 2019-03-30.