Cole Porter once famously wrote: “Birds do, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. Let’s do it, let’s....” But falling in love won’t be easy for teenagers today without that one voice who presently rules the Bolly charts: Arijit Singh.
Mr Romance will be in action today at P.C. Chandra II Gold Acres. ‘Arijit Singh Live!’ has been the talk of the town for weeks... and for obvious reasons. From Sooraj dooba hai (Roy) to Judaai (Badlapur), Teri meri kahaani (Gabbar is Back) to Agar tum saath ho (Tamasha)... 2015 has been a note-worthy year for him.
Enough talk. Let’s hear it from the 28-year-old singing superstar.
How does it feel to perform in Calcutta and what can we expect from your Sunday concert?
It’s a pleasure to come back to Calcutta again, and it’s been a long time we haven’t performed here. The whole team, including me, is excited, and it’s gonna be fun! This time we are trying to do something different; we are trying to create music that’s open to experimentation... with a symphony orchestra... which is something I’m doing for the first time in Calcutta.
You are the king of romantic songs in Bollywood. Is it necessary to have your heart broken to be able to sing such soulful numbers?
It is not necessary that you have to be broken-hearted to sing romantic numbers; it is not necessary at all. It is just that you have to be honest with yourself and your feelings, and you cannot pretend about your feelings. We all have good and bad times, and you have to accept them... you cannot ignore them. That’s the only way to be genuine and I think that helped me.
Rewinding to your childhood, what music did you grow up on?
I grew up listening to Indian classical music — Ustad Amir Khan saab, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan saab, Shankar Ghosh and then the legendary Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Shyamal Bose.... At the same time, I listened to Manna Dey, Hemanta Mukherjee, Arati Mukherjee, Shyamal Mitra and so many other artistes. It’s blissful to have heard these legends all the time, and I believe this is one of the reasons why (the passion for) music grew stronger in me.
What has been the turning point in your career?
There was more than one turning point. I remember getting scholarships from CCRT for Indian classical music. I’m a vocalist, so that’s one turning point because I got inspired to practise more.
And then I got an opportunity to participate in Fame Gurukul 2005, which helped me explore Mumbai. Then 2011 was another turning point when my first song (Phir mohabbat) released from Murder 2... it was composed by Mithoon... and it was also the time I started assisting Pritamda, which gave me a lot of exposure to music, music production... exploring music 24x7.
Now, I am waiting for another turning point... very soon!
You have worked with all the big music composers — A.R. Rahman, Amit Trivedi, Pritam, Jeet Gannguli.... Who are you closest to in the industry?
Well, I have different relationships with different directors... really, really close relationships. But amongst all, since I have worked thoroughly with Pritamda, he is the closest. Not just as a singer but also as an assistant, as a friend, a brother. He always treats me like family and I have always had a lot of fun working with him.
Who are some of the film music composers you listen to?
I listen to RD Burman, SD Burman, then A.R. Rahman, Vishal and Shekhar... also Amit Trivedi, John Williams. I listen to Hans Zimmer... then a couple of folk artistes from the West.
Who do you owe your success to?
I owe my success to my family, friends, guruji and a lot of people who helped me understand where I go wrong... and to my enemies as well.
A lot of your fans would like to know what Arijit Singh does and doesn’t do to maintain his voice?
To maintain my voice, I rest a lot, I talk pretty gently. You just have to warm up your voice, practise in your head. What I don’t do is shout... well I shout sometimes but I try not to!
Why have you stayed away from social media? Don’t you want to connect with your fans?
Not only social media, I have been away from media coverage. But I have a Facebook page where I post regularly... whenever I feel like posting. I have a Twitter account which I seldom handle... just because I do not want to be seen or heard too much.
When you are not making music, what is a normal day in Arijit Singh’s life like?
Music is always there; it’s a part of my life. But technically, when I am not doing music, my life looks pretty simple... it’s like having a tea in the morning, watching some TV, reading a storybook... get your camera and click some pictures, have tea in the chai ka dukaan, have fun with friends... caromboard... Scooty... cycle... fun, basically... simple!
Mathures Paul & Pramita Ghosh
Which is your favourite Arijit Singh song? Tell t2@abp.in
