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- By Ushasri Ummadi
 He wanted to be different! He wanted to carry on his father's legacy! He wanted to make a difference! He has done all that and more. That's Roop Kumar Rathod for you, who has carved his own special niche in the world of music, be it ghazals or playback singing.
His is a voice that stands out amongst the rest, a voice that stirs your heart. Who can forget the award winning song 'Sandese aate hain' from the film 'Border', which made and still makes many a person shed tears for their loved ones protecting our country.
Roop Kumar Rathod is a singer to reckon with now but his first love still remains playing the tabla, a passion he gave up in 1984 to start a new career in the field of singing. Born into a family of musicians, Roop Kumar choose to continue his father's legacy and learnt the tabla unlike elder brother Shravan Rathod (of the Nadeem-Shravan duo) who took up music composing or younger brother Vinod Rathod who took to playback singing. He played the tabla for Shyam Benegal's 'Discovery of India', for ghazals, Qawaalis, Bhajans sung by Lata Mangeshkar, performed on stage. Before long he realized that this was not his goal, so he gave his first love to enter the world of ghazals. Soon after carving his niche in ghazals, he established himself as a good playback singer to reckon with, while experimenting with fusion music and giving music concerts with Gurtu and others. Constantly donning different roles, he believes that learning is a never-ending process, which is why he still learns the nuances of ghazal singing from his guru Ustad Niyaz Ahmed Khan.
Fusion music is a culmination of two different cultures, says Rathod when asked about his perception of fusion music. 'Nowadays, there is no language in fusion you hear, there is no interlink between the music which is very essential which is why most fusion music you hear sounds like confusion,' says Rathod. 'Melody is essential for fusion' he says adding that they improvise where necessary.
Fusion does have a limited target audience agrees Rathod and says that pop concerts generally target the older generation, whereas fusion music has a very limited selected audience that likes to experiment with music. He goes on to add that fusion music is 'only a star craze' and has more 'curiosity value' to it where the public is curious to listen what the fusion musicians have to offer. More awareness about fusion music is needed, says Rathod adding that fusion music is not only about music but also about lyrics.
Rathod's fans can look forward to his latest album titled 'Bandish', which is a classical album where he has sung 200-year old compositions of Mir Taki Mir, that hits the stands in April. And very soon a romantic album with wife Sonali. His latest films include 'Baaz', 'Jism', 'LOC', 'Amrita Preetham' etc. It was Rathod's third visit to the city and he still has a big question in mind. Why are Hyderabadis so reserved? Why don't they open up and enjoy themselves during the concerts here? He finds it surprising that inspite of knowing the culture ragaas, music etc, Hyderabadis don't enjoy themselves, whereas westerners danced, sang along during their concerts abroad. Well, there's only one way to find out if they will dance and sing along. Hold another Roop Kumar Rathod concert in the city.
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