SIDDHARTH PANDIT USES SILENCE LIKE A SUPERPOWER

For the pianist and composer, it can start with Chopin and end with a thumri

- ANURAG TAGAT

A lot of work for a composer, producer and pianist like Siddharth Pandit might take place in recording studios—whether it’s soundtracks and background scores for films like Uri: The Surgical Strike or more recently, Bandish Bandits season two or even his Azaad Sangeet album series.

So what was he doing hosting a full original set of music with an ensemble of vocalists and instrumentalists at the NCPA in Mumbai in February this year? Pandit, who began playing keyboard at the age of five, says it was to reinforce that “live music is still the most honest litmus test for a composer.”

The 32-year-old multi-instrumentalist describes the concert as a “turning point” in terms of his sustained interest in piano and even making music. “It felt like everything I’ve been working on behind the scenes finally had a stage that could hold it,” he says.

A producer, arranger and composer in the film industry since 2017, Pandit also steadily showcases how the worlds of Indian traditional music and Western classical can meet through Azaad Sangeet, whose third season came out in September 2024, spawning the wavy song “Beete Nahi” with singer Hansika Pareek and lyricist Alok Ranjan Srivastava. A soothing track that has warm, campfire jam vibes (with surprisingly intricate guitar work), the song showcased just how committed Pandit is to his independent music even as OTT songs like “Khaamakha” and “Hichki 2.0” from