Ajay Keswani tasted tremendous success in his businessman but the young man, who can play as many as twenty-seven musical instruments, always had a desire to express himself as an artiste. A few years back, he decided to pursue his passion for music professionally and released a bunch of singles which did well. Recently, Saregama released a recreated version of ‘Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si’ put together by Ajay. The video of the song featured Ajay along with Urvashi Rautela.
In this interview, he talks about the efforts that went into showcasing a classic in a new avatar, trend of recreating songs, working with Urvashi Rautela, the songs which are the closest to his heart, whether he plans to face the camera as an actor and more.
The song has been stated to be tribute to Kishore Kumar. Why did you think of recreating this particular song?
Viral Motani and Pakhi Hegde met at a social gathering. They are the masters of remixes in Bollywood. I was singing old songs and playing instruments there. They encouraged me to do this project. ‘Ek Ladki Ki Bheegi Bhaagi Si’ has been one of my all-time favourite songs. I have been a Kishore da fan since childhood. Even Viral and Pakhi were fans of this song. It has been recreated 64 years after its release.
While many like remixes and recreations, there are a large number of people who are opposed to it as well.
I think as long as we respect the original composition and treat the recreation as a tribute, then it’s fine. Those who listen to my version of ‘Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si’ will realize that the composition is the same. We tried our best to stay close to the original song. We have just experimented a bit with the arrangements and tried giving a modern touch to it. Doing a recreation is a big challenge. My version of ‘Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si’ is a humble tribute to Kishore da.
How was the experience of working with Urvashi Rautela on the music video?
Initially, I was a bit nervous but after working with her, I realized that she was a very humble and hard-working actress. Also, she is a one-take artist which is incredible. She is fully prepared before a shot and gives her best.
Are numbers, views and hits important for you?
Since the popularity of a song is gauged by views today, numbers are important. But, according to me, what is more important than views is that a song should reach out to a large number of people and be heard by them.
Out of all the songs you have done till date, which one has been your favourite?
‘Ek Ladki Bheegi Bheegi Si’ and ‘Humsaaya’ are two songs that are the closest to my heart. ‘Humsaaya’ was my debut song. It is a song I started my journey as a musician with, so it will always remain very special to me. We had actually started working on ‘Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si’ a year and a half back. Because of the lockdown, things got a little delayed. We made as many as eighteen versions of the audio track before finalizing one. A lot of hard work, blood and sweat has gone into the song. I am grateful to everyone who has loved and appreciated it.
You have a good screen-presence and are presented well in your music videos. Would you like to give acting a shot?
I am a musician at heart. I play around twenty-seven instruments. My world has always revolved around music and I believe it is God’s gift to me. I had never really thought about pursuing a career as an actor but if I get some interesting offers, I might give it a shot.
What is the kind of music we can expect from you this year?
This year, I will be coming up with a mix of recreations and original songs. During the lockdown, I worked consistently toward creating new tracks. There are a lot of songs which are ready and waiting to release. You will hear them soon.