Shaan

Captain, Bengal Tigers

How different is this show from the others you have been on?

This is a great concept that is uniting cricket and music, the two passions of the country. It will be a live show. Since we will be competing as a team, the composition will be extremely important. If I have someone with a classically-trained voice, I will be looking for another voice attuned to Bollywood style singing. A captain has to strategise that.

Who all are in your team?

Akriti Kakar is there. From the reality stars, we have Rituraj Mohanty from Odisha. He had won India’s Raw Star (in 2014). We will choose two fresh voices on the basis of online auditions. I will look for a versatile voice, not a specialist. In such contests, a lot of Lataji (Mangeshkar) or Ashaji (Bhosle) songs are performed, so that kind of a voice, or like Sunidhi’s (Chauhan), would be good. Let’s see what we get.

In what way will it follow the IPL format?

There will be six teams which will face each other twice. The show was conceived before Covid. Then, the channel was thinking of doing it on a home-and-away basis. We would have held our home rounds in Calcutta and got support from the live audience. But now it will all happen in Mumbai. Two teams will face off in each round but there will be no eliminations. There will be live voting by a pool of 1,000 people spread across the country who will watch the show on TV and vote on a special link. There will be no judge otherwise. Yes, three commentators will be there, like a radio jockey or any celebrity. But their comments will be more like exit poll. The top four teams on the points table will make it to the semi-final.

Who is your team’s celebrity mascot?

They have not decided that yet. But if I could have my wish, I’d want Dada Sourav Ganguly. He has the greatest connect with both Bengal and cricket.

Talking of Bengal connect, you recently released a single Aj mere saath tum ho, composed by Jeet Gannguli.

Yes, Jeetda and I had done an album together 12 years back. But that somehow did not come out. This song was lying ready since then. Jeetda had said: “If I ever record this song it will be with you.” The melody of the song is timeless and sounds modern even now. So it was recorded with fresh lyrics and new arrangement.

Why did you have to rearrange the song?

These days sound changes fast. Earlier, a trend in music used to last five or 10 years. Now trends change quickly, within a year or even six months. However, 2020 has frozen all trends. No one can make out what is going on. But yes, non-film music is back. People have listened to more non-film songs than film
songs. They have streamed much more.

Has Covid-19 democratised the music scene in India vis-a-vis film and non-film music?

It is a matter of time. Now, people are watching more OTT stuff at home, which is more serious and realistic, and with little music. So the market for music has been snatched to a large extent by non-film songs. The question is whether the trend will survive once the big films come in theatres and people see the big stars dancing to the film songs.

As a singer with footprint in both segments, how do you look at the situation?

It’s about time that we listen to a song without thinking whether it is a film or a non-film song. I enjoy being a versatile singer. I have done so much variety this year. I did a Sufi number called Karam Karde, then I did a Punjabi hiphop called Sniper, a romantic number called Main tujhe yaad karta hoon as also several social songs. Some film songs did well too. There was Har dafaa from Yaara and Tujhe rab mana from Baaghi 3. Dus Bahane came back as a remake (in Baaghi 3). I also did Bengali songs. People are consuming music on YouTube. They don’t care if it’s a film song or a non-film song. The barriers are breaking.

How many singles have you released this year?

On my channel, I released three singles; for other composers and channels, another 20-odd. A lot were motivational songs, saluting Covid warriors.

You are also doing online concerts, including one post-Christmas on Bryan Adams.

Yes, that’s my last concert of the year (2020).

Is the audience getting used to online concerts and the idea of having to pay for it?

This is my first such show. If it was a Hindi or a regional language show, I think response would have been even better. But being an English show, it caters to a niche audience. If it has done so well despite the constraint, it must mean people are getting used to it.

Musicians were worried about concerts coming to a halt. This should be good news for them.

Yes. I do a lot of private corporate shows. We are doing a lot of them online now. There is good response. I think once things open up, it will remain as a parallel trend. The benefit of this mode is you can take direct requests, give shout-outs. If a company has branches spread across the country, they can get people from all their branches to watch the concert. They can chat amongst themselves during the concert and send in song requests. All you need is good Internet and a good studio. You can perform there with your band and from time to time, you watch the screen and give shout-outs to individuals. They feel good that Shaan mentioned them. In a live show, you don’t get to know the people you are performing for.

Finally, a word on the passing of Wajid Khan.

It came as a rude shock to all of us. I have gone a couple of times to their studio, Taalim in Andheri, since the lockdown. They were more like family and I used to drop off at their studio for a chat whenever I was in Andheri. I also went there to record the anthem for the show. Sajid has kept Wajid’s spectacles on the speaker at the spot where he used to sit in the studio. That’s so touching!

Kailash Kher

Captain, Mumbai Warriors

Kailash Kher at a recent concert in Darjeeling. Sourced by The Telegraph

In what way is this show different from other music reality shows?

Earlier, judges and mentors used to share their knowledge and train the contestants behind the scenes. But this is the first time we are also competing. We will also perform. The public will vote and the points will all go to the team. Team members will interact with fans through social media, so will the captains through their individual accounts. Expect some never-before occurrences on the show. Who knows, I might recreate Teri deewani with a team member!

Since you mention Teri deewani, even Zayn Malik, formerly of the boy band One Direction, had sung a version of the song in 2018.

Yeh kya hua tha na someone sent me a video, saying “Zayn Malik has sung your song” and asked for my reaction. Mujhe pata nahin tha woh hai kaun. I thought it was a random video, like many people send. So I said: “Yeah, this boy is trying, good, but he should learn from our academy. May be he will improve.” Later, I heard the guy is already renowned! Iss ka bahut pyari memes baney social media pe (laughs) .Two weeks later, he sung another song of mine, Allah ke bande. Un dinon unko Kailas Kher ka bukhaar chad gaya tha.

Covers by international artistes must be making you feel good.

I will share one more trivia with you. Kailasha is such a big hit across the world. There’s a New York-based African-American jazz musician called Richard Bona. Wherever he performs across the world, he starts his concert with Teri Deewani. Some of the words he cannot pronounce properly, but he is trying very sincerely. In our country, there is the trend of copying from the West. But such is god’s grace that people who have followers in millions are singing our songs! It means we have capability. We need to create more original music.

Who composed the anthem for IPML that all the captains recorded?

One of the teams was asked to compose (Sajid Khan of Delhi Dhurandhars). Aisa toh nahin hota ki ek roti tu bana de, doosre roti main banayunga, ek chawal tu bana de, char chawal main bayunga. It doesn’t look nice. Khana ek banaya, sab milke khayenge.

Today, web series are becoming popular, giving more scope for work to the industry. But singers are left out as original music is hardly used in web shows. How do you feel about this?

That time is also coming. It is a new medium so people are experimenting. Immediately everything cannot happen. But things are evolving for the better. Now original songs have started coming in web shows.

Have you sung in any yet?

Ji, I have sung in two or three web shows. I don’t remember their names. Woh gareeb ban ke aate hain, (saying) “Ours is not a film, toh budget is not very high”. It’s ok, we support them. I have recorded in the last two-three months. They are now adding music to the script. It is becoming the same format as movies.

You performed in Darjeeling recently.

Yes, at the Darjeeling Hill Marathon. Bahut tagda show hua — Kailasha, Live in Concert. The temperature had dipped to minus. We were about to reach the venue and I was worried whether I could even hold the mic, it was so cold! But the Almighty is so gracious that just as we were about to take the stage, the sun came out blazing. I even had to take off the jacket. It was golden sunshine. Darjeeling is a hub of music lovers. I have performed in Shillong also. In the east, music is in every home.

You posted a photo with Shikhar Dhawan a while back on Facebook. Do you follow cricket?

I don’t get time. Fifteen years passed by in a blink of the eye. We know them (cricketers). They listen to our music. I met him on a flight in Mumbai.

How did you spend lockdown?

I did a lot of motivational webinars and concerts. I was more busy during lockdown than I was before it!