Composer Pratap Rout

Bhubaneswar, May 16: His compositions have touched hearts and added meaning to several plays. When the theatre fest of city-based troupe Uttar Purush begins next week, composer Pratap Rout would once again hog the limelight.

The 43-year-old is a known name in the Odia theatre circuit and has composed music for all the plays that will be staged at the cultural soiree. A student of National School of Drama (NSD), Rout has scored music for over a hundred plays during his career spanning 16 years. The mere mention of the word ‘theatre’ lights up his face. However, when asked about composing music for films, he enthusiasm seemed to wane. “I have learnt classical music and I like the discipline in theatre. The commercial aspect of creating music, especially for films, never attracted me,” says Rout, adding that he watches more art films than commercial ones and observes the difference in music between the two genres.

But theatre doesn’t offer enough remuneration. So, isn’t it affecting the way he creates music? “It does! I need sophisticated equipment to experiment with my music, which I can’t afford to with the kind of remuneration on offer in theatre. It’s high time Odisha had ticketed shows for theatre,” he says.

Having said that, he believes the music scenario has improved in the state. “I have attended 13 workshops of NSD. These days I see theatre groups from Odisha going outside and performing and troupes from other states staging their plays here. The cultural interaction has made the complacent theatre directors sit up and take notice. We need more workshops,” says Rout. So, is direction on the cards? “I have not given much thought into direction. First, I want to do something that puts me with the who’s who of Indian theatre,” he says.

Rout initially was trained by his father, who used to play the tabla. Then he went on to graduate in music from Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya and later received professional training under the tutelage of B.V. Karanath.