do the singing. And perhaps that works. How else can I explain winning the best playback singer award for Po Nee Po? And incidentally that made me the first North Indian to get that award.
You ' ve sung for Jingles as well. Tell us a bit about how you got into that and what that experience is like in comparison to playback singing for films?
I actually stepped out of Himachal to come to Delhi to work in the field of advertising and chanced upon jingles. I also spent some time in Delhi making jingles. Even now, in between, when time permits, I do jingles for various products. Though music makes the basis of both, doing jingles is a lot different from doing songs. For one, jingles are shorter. Not specific on emotions and don’ t have a hero singing them. The tunes are also simpler because the purpose of the tunes is to sell a product and not necessarily an emotion which in terms of film songs could be love, patriotism or playfulness or even anger. Jingles are simpler stuff in that sense and get done sooner.
It is a trend in todays media centric world to have prominent musicians on Reality Shows. You ' ve been part of quite a few of them yourself. What has been your experience in this realm and what do you look for when deciding on what Reality Production to be a part of?
Yes I have been part of a few shows and must say it’ s interesting to do those. The only criteria for choosing a show is that it must be interesting stuff with interesting people. Mostly you know if you want to do a show or not if the concept interests you. That’ s how I decided on my shows. Shows take longer to shoot and of course what one sees on TV is a finished product, hard to imagine when one is shooting it. But shows are fun and have done well with the Indian audience.
What are some of your upcoming projects right now?
Upcoming projects include film songs, my own private album, some exciting collaborations with world musicians and a few professional surprises that should be unveiled when their time comes1
What is the one quality you feel is essential for success in this field?
You must have your heart in the right place and keep the faith. Of course, everyone would suggest, you can’ t do much without luck on your side considering there is so much talent all around us and only few manage to get recognised. Having said that, persistence helps. Go on doing what you’ re doing with full faith in the powers above and things shall fall in place for you.
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