Your new album Tishnagi didn’t take too long after Aksar?

Yes, it was the least gap between two albums. The gap between Loveology and Tanha Dil was four years. The gap between Tanha Dil and Aksar was four-and-a-half years. But Tishnagi has come almost within a year of Aksar.

Why such an archaic title like Tishnagi?

The word Tishnagi means thirst. For me, it is not the thirst of singing. That is quenched by singing playback in Hindi films.

It is the thirst for the kind of music I want to make. These days, Indipop means folk, bhajans and what not. I have tried to keep Indipop as Indipop.

You usually compose all your tracks. What got you to collaborate with Ranjit Barot?

l songs in Tishnagi have been composed by me except the title song and Dono jahaan. Ranjit has a very strong personality, a little unapproachable perhaps. But after working with him, I have realised that only he could have given me the sound I was looking for.

You have to give him the credibility of a producer. He has played real drums for the tracks, not on the keyboards.

You also insist on writing your own songs?

Yes, I may be short on poetry or shaayari but the thought is there. Our western counterparts are their own songwriters and that is what makes them so big. The words may be very cliched and non-poetic but they should be hard-hitting.

I believe we all have social and moral responsibilities as citizens. It’s not that difficult to make hit songs these days, but that would be just another car in the traffic.

I can easily get Javed Akhtar or Gulzar to write my songs, but is that me?

For it to be my album I have to write and compose the songs myself. My Hindi wasn’t that great earlier but hosting Sa Re Ga Ma Pa on Zee has helped me learn the language properly.

What is your take on the raging controversy dogging Sa Re Ga Ma Pa?

I don’t think there is a controversy. One should be proud of the fact that his (Debojit’s) region is backing him.

Still, anything can happen. Debojit is definitely leading, but Vinit is also very good.

There are many other known collaborators in Tishnagi?

See, Tishnagi is not a quickly made album like most of today’s compilations. The idea was to have some fun besides creating a saleable album.

So, we got a Belgian guitarist named Nicolas Fiszman to play on most of the tracks. Ustad Sultan Khan has played the sarangi on one track.

The flute has been played by Naveen, who does A.R. Rahman’s songs. Then, Blaaze has done the rap vocals.

What was it like, singing on the Michael Learns To Rock track Take me to your heart?

Michael Learns To Rock had come some time back to perform in India. Their Shillong show was a big hit and I sang with them in the Mumbai concert.

There the band members told me how they have taken a Chinese song and made it into Take me to your heart. Now, since both they and I are with the EMI label, I suggested doing the song in Hindi.

For Michael Learns To Rock it was like: “We don’t mind having our song in Bollywood!” I explained that it wasn’t going to be the case but everything worked out thereafter.

And Shuruaat from the same album has made it to the Chronicles of Narnia soundtrack?

The song is very much with the film’s storyline about this evil witch who wants to destroy the world. And how these kids bring the whole thing back and give life another chance.

It was really good that Shuruaat was included in the film’s soundtrack. Earlier, another international song of mine, One love, was used in a film called Rakht.

It spoke about life after 9/11 but ended up being picturised on Abhishek Bachchan hip-hopping! That made the song a bigger hit, of course.

You again have your wife appearing in your videos?

Even my kids are there in the Tishnagi video. You can say that I am proud of my products. There were two kids and a woman needed for the video and I thought why not have my own family in there?

I am planning to get my mother in a video next (laughs). But she would never do it.

You yourself look very different in the video?

The music label always tells me that if you don’t have glamour and hot stuff in your videos they don’t get enough airplay.

But I have always believed in selling the song for what it is. So, I have gone back with my beliefs and made nicer, clean, boring videos. And I have done the baring myself, coming in Sando vests (laughs).

Tell us something about your forthcoming film playback assignments?

I have some very good songs coming up this year. Most of them are with Shankar Ehsaan Loy. There’s the title track of Farhan Akhtar’s Don.

Then I have sung for Salman in Marigold. I have also sung a couple of tracks in Nikhil Advani’s Salaam-e-Ishq.

I have sung two songs for Abhishek in Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. Then there are songs in Fanaah, composed by my favourite music director duo Jatin-Lalit. I also have a lovely Bengali song in Anjan Dutt’s The Bong Connection.