Classical Indian music innovator Salil Bhatt, son of renowned Mohan Veena player Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, recently explained to the Times of India thoughts on his cultural roots in Andhra Pradesh, in the Telangana region of India. A recent Juno Award nominee in Canada with his album, 'Slide to Freedom 2,' recorded alongside blues player Doug Cox, Bhatt was dismayed by how little attention he received in his ancestral land.

"When my Slide to Freedom 2 was nominated for the prestigious Juno Awards (popularly known as the Canadian Grammy), no one here seemed to think it was important," he said. "On the other hand, worldwide I did around 120 interviews. Our album was recorded in Ashcroft near Vancouver by renowned recordist Miles Wilkinson and we got a 4 star rating."

Like his father, Salil created his own instrument, the Satvik Veena, which crosses the traditional Indian veena with a steel lap guitar. He seemed slightly disconcerted about his homeland, stating that "except for Bollywood and cricket, nothing else matters in the country."

And yet Bhatt as accepted the mainstream somewhat, especially when talking about his son's musical ability and tastes. "I'm moved to tears when he plays Elton's numbers, he puts his heart and soul into it," he said, regarding his 12-year-old son's playing Elton John on his synthesizer, as well as Celine Dion, alongside the more traditional sounds of Beethoven and Mozart.

Watch a video of Salil and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt playing with Doug Cox after the jump.

While the film is not to be released until June 18, A.R. Rahman's soundtrack to Mani Ratnam's film, 'Raavan,' is already highly anticipated. With lyrics written by Gulzar, and featuring singers Kirti Sagathia, Vijay Prakash, Karthik, Sukhwinder Singh, Rekha Bhardwaj, Javed Ali, Reena Bhardwaj, Ila Arun, Sapna Awasthi and Kunal Ganjawala, early reports state that the music is "in tune with the soul of the movie."

Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Vikram and Aishwarya Rai, 'Raavan' is a love story concerning two unconventional characters. They marry as Dev (Vikram) is offered a sort of security job in the small North Indian town of Lal Maati, an area ruled not by law but by the tribal leadership of Beera (Bachchan). Dev and Beera battle in the jungle while Ragini (Rai) confronts her own truth in the midst of the battle in this modern retelling of the Ramayana.

The six-song soundtrack opens with three singers describing Bachchan's character in 'Beera,' with an upbeat rhythm. This is followed by Karthik and Irfan's 'Behene De,' and then an upbeat track by Sukhwinder Singh, 'Thok de Kill.' Bhradway and Ali come next on 'Ranjha ranjha,' while a love song, 'Khilli re' features Bhardwaj. The final track, a wedding song, features a Rajasthani folk touch and three singers, 'Kata kata.'

Watch a preview of 'Raavan' after the jump.

Tülay German's tumultuous life has made its way to the big screen with Didem Pekün and Barış Doğrusöz's new documentary film on the folk singer, 'Tülay German: The Years of Fire and Cinders.' Inspired by the woman's autobiography, the film recently premiered at the 29th International Istanbul Film Festival.

German chose a life of exile after being born in a well-off family, eventually moving to Paris with leftist Erdem Buri. She turned from her career in jazz to reinvent Turkey's folk sound, which today came to be known as 'Anatolian Pop.' Buri translated a Marxist book into Turkish and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, at which time the two left for France. Until her decision to quit music in 1987, she predominantly made her name singing for fellow exiles in Paris, using the lyrics of revolutionary poets in her songs.

In the documentary, Pekün travels to Paris to record the events through German's eyes, though she refused to take part in the film. She does, however, lend her voice by reading from her autobiographical book, The Black Box of The Plane Which Never Crashed,' which is the work that Pekün read in college and which inspired this movie.

Sitar player Hidayat Khan, son of the legendary classical musician Ustad Vilayat Khan, will perform at the Aicon Gallery on Friday, April 30 to benefit Kolkata's Neerupama, an organization devoted to both increasing public health and artistic awareness in children. Khan will be joined by Samir Chaterjee on tabla.

Hidayat Khan began playing sitar at age four under his father's tutelage. He learned both singing and sitar, eventually bringing him to stages around the world; he has played at London's Royal Albert Hall, Washington DC's Kennedy Center and New York's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Khan's music has also been heard in MIra Nair's 'Kamasutra,' and on the Discovery Channel show, 'Tracking a Legend.'

Watch Hidayat Khan's video for the song 'Ziver' after the jump.

Twenty-two-year-old actress Jiah Khan found herself in quite a predicament in Sajid Khan's upcoming movie, 'Housefull.' She marries Aarush (Ashkay Kumar), a man already in other relationships who, ironically, believes himself to have terrible luck. In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Khan discusses one of the film's main themes, 'I Don't Know What To Do.'

The song comes into the movie during the 'suhaagraat' scene -- the bedroom after their wedding night. The scene, as the above link shows, is a bit more playful than you would think. "You know, I was so excited the moment I heard the song," Khan says. "It was so hilarious and you have to closely listen to the lyrics to really know what's happening in the background. I just freaked out in it and there was so much more fun in store when we started shooting for the song."

The British-born daughter of Hindi film actress Rabiya Amin, Khan debuted in Bollywood at age 16 in Mukesh Bhatt's 'Tumsa Nahin Dekha,' and has quickly become a star to watch for in the industry. Ironically, as she states in the interview, this is her first time in traditional dress in a film.

"This is for the first time that I was wearing a saree and I really enjoyed it," she says of that scene. "This is what I always meant to do for the big screen. And I guess regarding the 'suhaagraat' sequence being revisited then I guess it's all good because somewhere we are getting a little too serious about movies. We should retain such old world charm from the '80s. It is wonderful to see such entertaining films finally coming out now."

It was when Four Quarters Entertainment owner Yusuf Ghandi visited jazz producer Bob Belden that the idea of creating an Indian-themed collage of Miles Davis songs sprung into his mind. Belden commented on how much Indian music had influenced Davis, suggesting something deeper could be explored. Ghandi concurred, and the two went on to produced the brilliant 2008 album, 'Miles From India.'

Recording the album in Mumbai and Chennai with many ex-Davis players, as well as local players, the two worlds merged beautifully. Classic Davis tracks like 'Spanish Key,' 'In A Silent Way,' 'Miles Runs the Voodoo Down,' 'Blue in Green' and the slow and fast versions of 'Ife' now included sitars and tablas. The double-album set set forth new possibilities of how to re-imagine the famed trumpet player, and is now coming to Iridium Jazz Club in Manhattan for a four-night run, May 28-31.

Entitled 'Miles Davis From Birth Of The Cool To Bitches Brew, feat Tom Harrell, Randy Brecker, Jeremy Pelt, Dave Leibman,' numerous other musicans will partake during the run. Hit the jump to see the full list of participating players as well as 'Spanish Key' from a 2008 'Miled From India' Concert in Los Angeles.

Ravi Shankar, the famed Indian sitar player who recently launched his own record label, East Meets West Music, at age 89, has now added another title to his name: Doctorate Degree of Laws from the University of Melbourne, for his "outstanding commitment to music and humanity."

In Australia to perform with his daughter Anoushka in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney, the degree was presented to him by University of Melbourne Chancellor and Chairman of the Australia India Institute, Alex Chernov. The university statement reads: "A singular phenomenon in the classical music world of East and West, Pt. Ravi Shankar was the brain behind the 1971 'Concert For Bangladesh' with George Harrison to raise money for Bangladeshi refugees that paved the way for today's high-profile benefit concerts."

Previous recipients of the award include Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi and former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson, while Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan turned down the honor last year, claiming he would not receive such acknowledgment in a country where his kinsmen are ill treated.