Matteo Bocelli teams up with sisters Sukriti and Prakriti for Amaal Malik’s composition

Indo-Italian tune: Matteo Bocelli with Sukriti and Prakriti Kakar
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

When the son of a legendary tenor collaborates with Bollywood artistes, the result is bound to be intriguing. Now, add love and heartbreak to the mix.  Twenty-five-year-old Matteo Bocelli, son of the multi-instrumentalist, opera and crossover artiste Andrea Bocelli, collaborated with twins Sukriti and Prakriti Kakar and composer Amaal Malik to release a Hindi-English pop-ballad single ‘I miss you amore’, on Valentine’s Day.  

On a zoom call for this interview, the three singers — Matteo from Tuscany, Italy and Sukriti and Prakriti from Mumbai — give a charming display of friendship and a common passion for music.  “I cannot tell you the precise songs but have been listening to some Bollywood music,” opens up Matteo and adds, “Music brings a beautiful and positive message for everyone. I grew up surrounded by opera music and have also listened to all kinds of music and artistes — I listen to Ed Sheeran a lot. When I received the rough demo of  ‘I miss you amore’ I fell in love with the melody. It sounded not far from our kind of musical structures. I knew I wanted to give my voice to this melody.”

Global goals

For Sukriti and Prakriti who had earlier collaborated on Dua Lipa’s Indian remix version of ‘Levitating’, this was another exciting proposition. “It all began with a call from Devraj Sanyal of Universal Music India for whom we did many singles,” says Sukriti. “We’ve had these conversations about more global collaborations being the best ways to bring various styles together. When we heard that there was a song — a part of an EP from Matteo — I went on Instagram to know more about him. Of course, we have been fans of his father. For a long time, we thought about what kind of a song we want to go towards; do we want to make an English song and add Hindi lyrics, or is he going to sing in English or Italian? Then we first met virtually during the lockdown and things started becoming more clear; it’s been such a wonderful experience since then. Matteo has a beautiful voice and so much talent. He is so respectful and is such an amazing human being.”

Matteo adds, “It’s beautiful to exchange cultures and music and I feel super honoured to perform on this track with Sukriti and Prakriti, and Amaal Mallik is a great composer. I am thankful to everyone for making this possible.”

Familial bonds

Matteo sees a connection between Italy and India, adding that the warmth with which Indians welcome visitors is similar to the Italians. “Our display of love and welcoming may look ridiculous to some but that’s how we are,” laughs Matteo and adds, “I was in India for a short time but enjoyed those days and hope to come back soon.”

‘I miss you Amore’ lyric exudes pensiveness, an unlikely mood for Valentine’s Day release. Why did these young artistes get together to bring out a sad song? Matteo laughs. “I feel like I was born old inside…” the girls pitch in with more laughter, “It’s in his voice,” to which Matteo agrees, “Yes, it’s my voice… I am condemned… it’s part of the game and probably it’s destiny that I have to sing this.”

‘I miss you Amore’ was shot in one day and, Matteo, according to Sukriti and Prakriti is a one-take artiste. Says Prakriti, “We just wanted to put across the poignance of heartbreak; people who are probably not in a relationship would have still experienced the feeling of heartbreak at some point in life. And pain is one genre that works very well. There are three parallel stories of different sorts of heartbreak infused in this music video.”

Beyond music

The sisters who work as a team feel collaborations bring forth more ideas and it’s a lot of fun. Says Sukriti, “I had no idea that Italian and Indian forms of music can together sound so similar and yet so different. This song will always be special to us.”

Would they consider another collaboration with Matteo? “Absolutely,” they respond in unison. We feel grateful for this collaboration because it made us meet Matteo and we can always say that we have a friend in Italy. We met as artistes first and became friends. When we meet the next time, we’ll definitely jam… music is what binds us. God willing, there will be something soon,” they say.

Solo sojourn

‘Solo’ is the name of the single that Matteo released last year, another melancholic number. “I feel the melancholic sound is my identity. There is a conflict inside me, between trying to feel better and low at the same time. As a kid, I used to see my father leaving home constantly for his concert tours and felt my first sense of loneliness and melancholy. Of course, I was staying home with my mum, but it wasn’t easy for me and my brother to see my father leave. Today I see myself in the same position. I leave home for concerts, leaving behind family and friends and that’s what brought me to write ‘Solo’, which means loneliness. I tried to bring all those emotions into the song.”

Matteo featured in a duet ‘Fall on me’ with his father in 2018. In 2022, the Bocelli family released an album called A Family Christmas and this year, Matteo is set to release his first album; which will be of various styles and genres, he promises.

For now, opera has to wait, says Matteo. “I feel strongly connected to opera music as I was born into it. The day I feel secure and confident about the vocal technique, I will record opera. I appreciate my dad’s crossover music and that’s his path. But I need to do something closer to myself,” says Matteo.