Sitar player Purbayan Chatterjee marked his 50th birthday with the release of a visually ambitious music video for Shallow Water Blackout , his hard-rock fusion collaboration with American guitarist Mark Lettieri.
Mark and I simply played, and I composed and recorded my parts in two takes, allowing the music to unfold naturally in the moment,” he said. It opens with a Bengal tiger walking through a forest before shifting to Chatterjee playing the sitar in a pond, where temple ruins begin to come alive. The film ends with the entire world transforming into a giant, living sitar. For Chatterjee, the project reflects the possibilities of combining traditional musicianship with emerging technology without taking human creativity out of the equation. “ Shallow Water Blackout is, at its core, a completely organic piece of music. “What I love is that every idea, sketch, narrative arc, and artistic decision came from people, while AI and CGI helped bring that vision to life at a scale and speed that would otherwise be impossible. The project also explores how AI-assisted production could make ambitious visual storytelling more accessible to independent musicians and smaller creative teams, while keeping the artistic vision and decision-making firmly in human hands. Looking for trusted parenting advice? Follow TOI Parenting Circle on Instagram for expert guidance, relatable stories, and practical tips delivered every day. Get the latest Lifestyle News and more. Download the TOI app.
The imagery then moves into an anime-inspired world, with Lettieri appearing through a levitation sequence before the two musicians face off in a dramatic guitar-sitar encounter.
The track, part of their nine-track electronic-fusion album, blends Indian classical music with progressive rock. Built around Raga Miyan Ki Todi and drawing some inspiration from Shankar Mahadevan’s Breathless , the high-energy composition was recorded almost entirely in a continuous flow. Chatterjee’s rapid-fire sitar lines run alongside Lettieri’s heavy guitar riffs, creating an intense, immersive soundscape. The accompanying film takes a deliberately human-led approach to animation. Conceptualised, scripted and directed by Karan Gujar, it was developed through hand-drawn sketches, traditional concept art and hand-painted digital backgrounds. Artificial intelligence was used as a supporting tool to refine and enhance the animation rather than generate the entire film. The visual narrative moves through a surreal, mythical world.