‘I want to explore more of Indie music’

With various hits like

Shubhaarambh

from Kai Po Che,

Sun Saathiya

from ABCD 2,

Janam Janam

from Colorbaaj and many from the Tamil and Telugu music industry in his kitty,

Divya Kumar

has made his mark in Dhollywood and Bollywood.

A well-known face in Gujarat and a frequent visitor to Ahmedabad, the singer who shifts effortlessly from one language to another, greeted his audience with a rendition of Gori Radha Ne Kado Kaan sung by him for Wrong Side Raju at a talk event in the city on Wednesday.

We caught up with the singer who is planning to explore independent music and believes that the rich Gujarati folk music can become popular through the medium. Excerpts from the chat.
‘Yaha toh jalsa hota hai’

“Amdavadis are nice, warm and fun-loving people. I really like this city and it has become like a second home. No…First home actually (laughs). I have started to share a personal relationship with people here. I believe they will achieve incredible feats of success,” Divya who has worked with composers like

Sachin-Jigar

, Pallav Baruah, Kedar-Bharghav and others in the Gujarati music industry says.

“Composers se zyada, dost hai yeh mere. Working with friends is always fun. Our wavelengths are in sync. It is very important for artists to understand each other. We hang out, eat and have fun together and then decide on what to work on. That is the sentiment here. Since we are friends, it is easier to communicate with the composers here which is not always the case with senior composers in Bollywood. There the relationship is strictly professional,” he says.

On difference between the Bollywood and Gujarati music industry, he says, “There isn’t much of a difference in terms of the content. It’s just that the audience is different. Gujarati music industry has grown a great deal. In Bollywood, the work is a lot more mechanical. Everyone is working day in and day out. But, Gujarati music industry mein jalsa hota hai. Professionalism is much more evident in Bollywood.”

‘Gujarati folk can go places’

Divya who has always been a playback singer says, “Though I am yet to do a lot of work as a playback singer, I have started to explore independent music. I would like to do more of it in the future. I think the future of music in India lies in independent music. In Gujarat too, indie artists have become prominent. Meghdhanoosh band is one such example. There are also individual artists who have started putting up their work on the internet.”

He explains, “All of us are very Bollywood oriented. At present, mostly film music is commercially popular. The folk music in Gujarat is very rich and through independent music it can reach the masses.”

The singer adds, “If the content is nice, it can have an international reach as well. It will take time for independent music to be recognised in the country, but we are slowly reaching there.”

On multilingual experience

Born and brought up in Mumbai, Divya who is a frequent visitor to Ahmedabad has managed to pick up Gujarati. He feels lucky and grateful to have worked in multiple entertainment industries. “For Tamil and Telugu songs, I learn the words on the day of recording and forget it as soon as I’m done (laughs). These languages are very difficult to pick up. We have a person who dubs for us, so that we understand the lyrics while we record. Also, my experience of working in the South Indian music industry is much less as compared to Bollywood," says Divya.

He says he likes learning different things from different people. “As an artist, I get to learn new things from different people. I am happy. Even if I learn a language for a short period of time, I’m glad that I got the opportunity to have a new experience which will help in the future.”

‘Playback singers are faceless’

While the internet is a huge platform for musicians to showcase their work, Divya says, “Many listen to the song, but don’t look up the artist. Playback singers are generally faceless. The biggest setback for me right now is that a lot of people don’t know that I am a singer. They don’t associate my songs with me. But, I like the fact that people appreciate my songs without knowing me. Still, because of the faceless factor there is a chance of a song being miscredited too. For instance, my name was recently put alongside a song that I had not sung. I need to deal with it first.”

On piracy, he says, “I am not clear about the exact figure but it affects the industry a lot. Artists need money, and the audience fails to understand it. It should support the music industry by not buying pirated versions. You should pay for the artists’ creativity. Piracy needs to stop, period.” He signs off.