A 12-second veena interlude in a Bollywood blockbuster has taken over Instagram Reels, and the man behind it is not a film musician. He is a 24-year-old Carnatic classical vainika from Tiruvannamalai named Ramana Balachandran.
The track is ‘Phir Se’ from the Ranveer Singh-starrer ‘Dhurandhar’, sung by Arijit Singh and composed by Shashwat Sachdev. The zingy, folk-infused veena hook has gone viral, with thousands recreating it online.
A serendipitous Bollywood entry
Ramana’s entry into Bollywood was accidental. Shashwat Sachdev had been following his classical veena performances on Instagram. A common friend connected them.
“Shashwat bhai was very warm. He just asked me to play something that captured a bittersweet feeling. I was randomly improvising, and we stumbled upon this interlude,” Ramana recalls.
Neither of them expected the track to explode. “We had no idea it would blow up so much,” he says with a laugh.
The technical secret behind the sound
What makes that veena hook sound so distinct? Ramana reveals a production secret: the microphone was placed 2.5 feet above the instrument rather than close to the soundbox.
“That gave a different kind of sound – almost aerial, with natural reverb. It was new even to me,” he explains.
This unconventional miking, combined with his classical gamakas (ornamentations), created a texture that felt both ancient and fresh.
From Bengaluru to Tiruvannamalai
Ramana grew up in Bengaluru in a music-filled home. His mother is a veena player; his father a vocal enthusiast. At nine, he corrected his mother’s rendering of a Thyagaraja kriti – even though he couldn’t play it then. That moment led to formal veena training.
When he was 12, his father left corporate life and moved the family to Tiruvannamalai for a slower, spiritual existence. Ramana was home-schooled, living near the famous temple.
“Here, I saw so many people who have renounced luxurious lives and are doing quality work without any fuss. That deeply inspired me,” he says.
Not chasing film fame
Despite offers pouring in after ‘Dhurandhar’, Ramana remains grounded. “My priority is not films. I am first and foremost a Carnatic vainika. There is an ocean of work here to delve into,” he states.
His current exploration is the ragam Shanmukhapriya. He is also on a mission to make classical music more accessible – explaining ragams before performances, engaging audiences directly, and using social media thoughtfully.
“I feel I have a responsibility to showcase Carnatic music’s beauty while being open to other forms,” he says.
The joy of unexpected resonance
For Ramana, the viral success is not about fame. “To see such a short interlude resonating with people from a variety of backgrounds – that gave me real joy,” he says.
As ‘Phir Se’ continues to trend, one thing is clear: a classical veena from a small temple town has found its way into the national spotlight. And Ramana Balachandran is just getting started.
