When you cast a new voice for your songs , what essential qualities you tend to look for in the singer ? How easy or difficult is it to work with and prepare a newbie behind the mike ?
The most important quality I extensively hunt for in a singer is the honesty in his / her expressions . I ’ m allergic to plastic renditions and neither am I a fan of fake perfection . I don ’ t mind a few flaws here and there but I rather lend priority to sincere articulations . I prefer working with greenhorns because they give me the amount of time and effort I command while creating my songs . That is why some of my chart-toppers have been with relatively new singers and some of the most loved singers in the fraternity whom I have a personal fond equation with are Atif Aslam , Shilpa Rao , Mohd . Irfan , Arijit Singh , et al . All these guys have had their first song under my directorial tunes .
Your album Tuhi Mere Rab Ki Tarha Hai was critically acclaimed and many have noticeably appreciated its quality output on the networking sites as well . Despite the fact that you are running a hectic timetable and wish to solely concentrate on your film assignments , aren ’ t you in a way depriving all the fans of independent music , who are sold on your unique , individual sound , which is unrestricted by Bollywood constraints ?
After Tu Hi Mere .. I got tied up with a string of plum film offers like Murder 2 , Jism 2 , Lamhaa andAashiqui 2 and I could not give time to anything else . But now I have organised myself in a much better fashion . I have finally set up my own studio with a highly dedicated team working on the parallel projects . Well , I ’ d definitely want to be part of the larger independent music scene on the digital medium and I will be surely venturing out into that direction later this year .
You are not averse to dance numbers and have conjured up quite a few chartbusters in the said genre . But you are dead against item songs . Why so ?
I ’ m not outrightly condemning item songs but at the same time , I still haven ’ t really gripped the exact meaning of the term , let alone its controversial baggage of vulgar shots and profane language being used into certain tracks . I just feel that as composers , it ’ s very interesting for us to create good quality music within the inspirational premise of the script and there is certainly no need to thrust a number into situations , under the pretext of promotion and commercial entertainment . Often songs get filmed on the blunt excuse of grabbing attention and minting money , which I fail to digest .
As a lyricist when you hold the pen , you become responsible for the words your creative juices ooze out . Given the kind of double-meaning wordings that are often used in today ’ s songs which critics call crude , unpleasant and distasteful , does it hurt and annoy your poetic instincts if the expressions border on the offensive ?
I have always heard words such as divine , sincere and hearttouching from people who define my music and the songs written by me . I believe that my music should uphold the very moral values I stand for in life . So I have a huge responsibility involved here to live up to . There is no place for any vent in my music that is unpalatable or I don ’ t relate to . The songs I have penned the lyrics for may not be poetic stunners or be grammatically impeccable but I take immense pride in the fact that they signify a certain value system , ethics and virtues I can gladly vouch for . That ’ s my stance as an artiste as well as a songwriter and I do not judge others who think any differently .
What inspires you as a writer ? Which poet / lyricist do you adore and why ?
You see , human life is a very big well from where the greatest of poets have drawn inspirational waters to quench their creative thirsts and I too have frequently given in to that temptation . There are stories floating all around us , amongst us and we just need to hear them out with the right mindset and approach to be able to convert them into nice poetry . One writer who have had a great impact on my penchant for compiling verses and poetic thoughts would be Saeed Qadrisaab who I remember having first met as a teenager and like a guardian angel , he played an instrumental role in my career to hone my writing skills . He did whet my appetite to further raise the bar of creativity and enhanced the quality of my songs with his rich poetry . Besides him , I have always admired the works of poets like Raja Mehdi Ali Khan , Hasrat Jaipuri and Saahir Ludhianvi .
Enlist your forthcoming films as a composer .
A slew of upcoming endeavours is lined up for final shape . For example , Aksar 2 , Sons of Sardar 2 , etc .
Musical trade-offs are very common in the music industry wherein one tunesmith-vocalist sings for another composer and vice-versa . For instance , your very talented good friend Ankit Tiwari has sung for you in Sanam Re . How do you view this camaraderie and does this kind of a mutual rapport augur well for the industry ?
See inside the studio , I ’ m nobody ’ s friend to be very frank as there it is just a composer listening to a singer and taking a call . It ’ s a practical world after all and we as seasoned pros can ’ t dilute that principle when it comes to work . I thought Ankit ’ s voice aptly suited my song in Sanam Re to the tee and that ’ s why he was on board to deliver the goods . Look , these little trivial things and minor changes of adjustment do not make any tangible difference to the industry . What counts the most is that we all work hard and intend to make some good , ear-pleasing music to captivate our audiences . And that is very important .
Would you ever sing for any fellow composer ?
Honestly to speak the truth , I ’ m never comfortable with this idea , though I have got a few offers on this front in the past .
News has gone viral that you are synergizing with none other than ace Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh over an interesting project . How did it fall in place and what is it all about ?
It ’ s actually a thought that Bhajji shared with me . We have been close friends since a while now and he has always expressed his keen interest in music . He wanted to do something to celebrate our national heritage and culture . We were always contemplating on working together and were in talks for collaborating on a single since over a year now . This concept cropped up on his birthday and while many ideas got exchanged , this one particular struck us the most .
I always believe that music should address a higher purpose and collaboration of ideas must carry meaning to the fore . This would be Harbhajan ’ s debut shot at singing and he is already taking lessons in the studio to perfect his grip on the art and sounds super-excited about his new task at hand . The song will celebrate the contribution of real life heroes who strove hard towards the nation ’ s welfare . The single will be sung in Hinglish and premiered in December by this year-end . The video song will be picturized across different states of India , featuring the real lives of the common man , who are the actual driving force of our country .
The Score Magazine
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