Mohit Chauhan

He made his presence heard more than a decade ago with Dooba dooba in the album Boondein. He had his first brush with playback, singing Pehli nazar mein for RGV’s Road in 2002. He hit the high notes with Tum se hi in Jab We Met. He notched up the biggest hit this year singing Masakkali for Delhi-6. He is now the voice of love songs in Hindi films.

Take a bow, Mohit Chauhan.

Be it Yeh dooriyaan in Love Aaj Kal, Tune jo na kaha in New York or Pehli baar mohabbat in Kaminey, the boy from Himachal (now the man in Delhi) is behind every love song releasing in Bollywood. And he sings them all like he means them, straight from the heart.

Hear it from Salim Merchant of the Salim-Sulaiman duo (who had Mohit belting it out for them in Fashion and 8x10 Tasveer): “When I write a love song, it’s very difficult for me to imagine anyone else singing the song other than Mohit. He has this nice dreamy tone and doesn’t overact when singing a sentimental song which many singers tend to do. He sounds relaxed and real and that turns out to be one of his main qualities. The folksy earthy feel in his singing obviously comes from his background in Himachal.”

Pritam, who swears by Mohit, goes a note further: “It’s because he comes from the hills that makes for a lazy laid-back singing style. There’s an innocence in his voice, which adds to the mood and temperament of a song and sets him apart.”

Mohit with his windswept voice was just what the doctor ordered when rules of the playback game were changing. With composers keen on combining a range of genres, scores and vocals that could throw up a surprise or two, an infusion of fresh and interesting voices was the need of the Bolly hour.

“Singers like Abhijeet and Kumar Sanu have a broad stereophonic voice. The newness in Mohit’s voice comes from the fact that it’s silky, not thick. A naturally filtered and transparent texture which allows you to almost see through his voice,” feels Pritam, while Salim believes “the grains in his voice have a soothing quality and help a romantic song”.

TUM SE HI...

Mohit’s first few musical assignments comprised singing and composing for jingles and documentaries till he hit the pop turf running with Dooba dooba backed by his band Silk Route and shot stunningly under water. After two successful albums with songs that scorched the charts, the group disbanded and Mohit went his own singer-songwriter way before Bollywood came calling.

His first few songs may have been wasted in inconsequential movies but it took one such average flick for the singer to be “discovered” by a boy from Presidency College making it big in Bollywood. “I had gone to watch Main Meri Patni Aur Woh when I heard this song called Guncha. The next one week I spent trying to trace the singer. I was desperate to use the voice that I later discovered was Mohit’s,” recounts Pritam.

“Although he had already sung Khoon chala in Rang De Basanti, the song hadn’t really registered with me. I really wanted to cast (a term also used by music directors when choosing a singer for a song) him for Labon ko labon pe in Bhool Bhulaiyaa but it didn’t work out for other reasons. So, as soon as I started composing for Jab We Met I insisted on casting Mohit for Tum se hi. Imtiaz (Ali) in fact helped track down Mohit through a friend in Delhi. We waited for a month till he managed to come to Mumbai and dub. After Tum se hi he’s been singing pretty regularly and he’s definitely here to stay.”

Moments from Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal and Main Meri Patni Aur Woh: Mohit’s voice has lent a special something to these films

(For those not in the know, Mohit had composed four of the tracks, including Guncha for Main Meri Patni Aur Woh, starring Rituparna Sengupta.)

THE ROMANTIC

Just like his soft breezy vocals that thrill and soothe at the same time, the man himself is easy and amiable, an intriguing mix of quiet passion and an unhurried air. “I’m a romantic,” he confesses, but is quick to add, “romantic in the sense that I yearn for things unknown. Maybe it’s because I was born and brought up in the mountains. Looking at the sunset, longing for beautiful glimpses of birds, flowers, anything or lazing on a haystack staring at the sky all create an amazing romance in me. I was shy as a child and preferred staying on my own. At home I used to feel shy singing aloud. What if my parents or neighbours might hear me! So I’d walk down to the Beas river where the gurgling waters would cut out all other noises and I could sing out in peace.”

Lack of formal training has never been a constraint for the self-taught singer, songwriter and composer. “I’d constantly meet people who loved music and played the guitar. I discovered my singing, the instruments and myself while jamming with others or watching them play during such random gatherings. Sometimes these days I do think about going in for a crash course in Hindusthani classical. Would it help me understand folk better?” he ponders.

It took seven years and a sudden call from A.R. Rahman that gave his Bolly career the big boost with Khoon chala, the dark and inspiring number in Rang De Basanti, coming his way.

“Rahmansaab was always a great inspiration. We met for the first time in 1998 at the Channel [V] awards where we had a short conversation. He said he liked our way of making music after which there was no word until Khoon chala happened in 2006,” he says, more animated than usual.

Despite being the most wanted man to render Bollywood’s lines of love, Mohit doesn’t like to “push” himself. “There are times I sing every day, some days I just don’t and then I’ll be humming this and that, here and there,” says the singer-songwriter who is now looking forward to his first solo, “slightly autobiographical” album.

LOVE IS ALL AROUND

It is an unflappable charm coupled with a base voice that probably allows him to render the dreamy heady feeling of romance the way he does. Whether it’s capturing the throes of first love or belting out pangs of separation, Mohit is the musical man of the moment.

“Mohit Chauhan was a surprise. At first he came across as a crossover singer striding the divide of neo-modern and classical with Khoon chala. It was great because it was raw and extremely earthy. Tum se hi on the other hand flows. You can travel with his voice as it soars,” says 27-year-old Avishek Rayghatak, a heavy-metal- junkie-turned-Mohit Chauhan fan.

And then there are some who can’t get enough of him. “His voice has all those ingredients to make a love song special. He sounds effortless just like an honest lover. After Masakkali I am hooked on Pehli baar from Kaminey. Listening to it is sheer bliss. But he must sing more!” cries out Kashish Mukherjee, a media consultant.

Sitting amid a spate of releases — Kites, Sikandar, Do Paise Ki Dhoop Chaar Aane Ki Baarish, Tum Mile and the Walt Disney animation film Bolt — the singer can only expect to get busier. And despite the romantic aura Mohit maintains that he is “flexible”. “Masakkali wasn’t a love song in that sense but as long as a song has soul, people will connect with the music,” he muses.

Now we know what Pritam meant when he turned sceptical before casting Mohit for Yeh dooriyaan in Love Aaj Kal. “Mohit seemed too predictable a choice for the song. He’s become the master of this style. Of course, the song’s done well but why do you think Masakkali stands out? What an unusual casting and look at what it did for Mohit! This guy is capable of other styles and I am thinking of trying him out for some fast breezy numbers. He’ll definitely keep singing love songs but now it’s our task to tap his other sides.”

Well, we’re all ears!

Mohit Chauhan Love Anthems

GUNCHA (MAIN MERI PATNI AUR WOH): Sparse instruments, a languid pace and
soulful vocals make it a mysterious and alluring number.

MASAKKALI (DELHI-6): An infectious rhythm with frills of mirth and masti in Mohit’s playful naughty style forms the heart and soul of this one.

KUCH KHAAS HAI (FASHION): A lovely lounge number that makes for a slow romantic effect as Mohit’s velvety voice swings and glides through high and mellow notes.

TUM SE HI (JAB WE MET): Refreshing mild vocals capable of churning out warm fuzzy feelings.

TUNE JO NA KAHA (NEW YORK): A slow and poignant number rendered in Mohit’s easy style.

YEH DOORIYAAN (LOVE AAJ KAL): A slow ballad with a hint of melancholy, it tugs at your heartstrings.

PEHLI BAAR MOHABBAT (KAMINEY): A soft, free- flowing yet spunky love ballad with a foot-tapping beat.

FACT FILE

Birthday: March 11
Hails from: Nahan in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh
Education: M.Sc in geology
Favourite musician: JJ Cale
Can play: Guitar, mandolin, harmonica, congo, djembe, bells and chimes