Robin Sukhadia: The Music of Lagaan & The Rise of Global Bollywood

This is an Archive of a Past Event

Center for South Asia in collaboration with 3rd i Films presents a multi-media lecture focused on Lagaan, the 2001 Academy Award nominated Bollywood epic film produced by Aamir Khan and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Through film clips and musical excerpts, Fulbright Scholar and tabla artist Robin Sukhadia will address Bollywood’s recent history and Lagaan's relevance to India’s post-colonial narratives. Special focus will be given to the rise and impact of Bollywood composer AR Rahman, whose richly textured score for the film elevated him to global notoriety.

Robin is a Bollywood scholar and a disciple of tabla maestro, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. In 2011, he completed a Senior Research Fulbright Fellowship in India, where he developed 6 music education programs across India and Nepal, each serving children in some of the poorest regions and communities of South Asia. He has lectured and developed innovative music education programs centered on classical Indian music and South Asian culture at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, The Hammer Museum, The GRAMMY Museum, and at Carnegie Hall. Robin currently serves as Director of Development and Communications for artworxLA, a 23-year-old arts and music education non profit serving at risk high school youth across Los Angeles County. He holds a B.A. in English Literature and a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and an M.F.A. in Indian Classical Music from the California Institute of the Arts. More at www.tablapusher.com.