In the ‘90s, Amitabh S Verma attended the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and formally learnt the craft of film editing. While he entered the film industry as an editor, his flair for writing songs led him towards penning hit numbers for films like ‘My Brother…Nikhil’, ‘Ankahee’, ‘Bas Ek Pal’, ‘Life In A Metro’, ‘Lamhaa’, ‘I Am’, ‘Khoobsurat’, ‘All Is Well’ and ‘PK’. In 2020, he directed the Shreyas Talpade – Bidita Bag starrer series ‘Teen Do Paanch’ which premiered on Disney+ Hotstar.
After exploring himself as an artist in different spheres, Amitabh fulfilled his long-standing dream of lending his voice to an original track by singing ‘Awalla’, a single also written and released by him. The single recently won The Clef Music Award for Best Artist (Folk). This was Amitabh’s first award as a singer. He plans to sing more often and release more songs in the near future.
How do you feel about winning your first award as a singer?
The Clef Music Awards are given to independent artists. It’s wonderful to see an institution recognizing the work of singers, musicians, lyricists and all those who are trying to create music independently. An award serves as a recognition of your work. It motivates you to do better work. An artist, at the end of the day, craves for the audience’s appreciation. When ‘Awalla’ released, many people from the industry like Pritam, Anu Malik, Resul Pookutty, Vishal Bhardwaj, Hansal Mehta and Amar Kaushik shared it and spoke positively about the song. When an independent song like ‘Awalla’ gets an award, more people get to know about it.
The song was, as credited, based on a traditional tune. What made you revisit it and present it in a new avatar?
I had heard the tune a long time back and it stayed in my mind. When I decided to release a single on my own, I thought of using this tune. Since it is a traditional tune, nobody has copyright over it. I wrote fresh lyrics for it. ‘Awalla’ comes from the word ‘awwal’ which means the best or the highest authority. Through this song, I wrote how love, as an emotion, is greater than any other feeling in the world.
You entered the industry in the late ‘90s. Did you think of releasing an album then?
This thought was always there at the back of my mind. Since I was a trained singer and I loved singing, I wished to sing professionally as well. Non-film albums had a huge market then. However, I trained as an editor in FTII and was looking for work in that space. Destiny also led me towards becoming a lyricist. If I had to pursue my singing ambitions, I had to do a different kind of struggle. I was already busy with a lot of things, so couldn’t really pitch myself as a singer back then. You need a lot of discipline to make a career in music. Back then, I would sing while explaining a song written by me to a singer.
You released ‘Awalla’ independently. Was the process easy?
A couple of labels were interested in distributing the song but I realized singles featuring newer artists do not get promoted that well. Therefore, I thought of releasing the song on my own. Me 2 Films, a company owned by my wife Shruti Aninditaa Vermaa and I, produced both the audio track and the music video. What I feel most happy about is that the song has grown and reached out to listeners organically. Thanks to the digital revolution, releasing original music has become easier. Earlier, you could only go to established music companies and work according to their terms and sensibilities.
With the series ‘Teen Do Paanch’, you made your debut as a composer. Are you enjoying the process of exploring your musical talents?
I have been singing since childhood but I never thought I would compose. In fact, I didn’t even know that I could compose (laughs). ‘Teen Do Paanch’ was initially designed as a film. While working on it, I had a certain budget in mind for the music. I was mostly speaking to new composers for my film. When I didn’t like any of the songs they presented, I thought of creating some tunes on my own. I was not sure if I would be able to do it but I decided to give it a shot. I am not planning to become a professional composer but I might compose for the films or the shows I make myself.
What are you doing next?
I plan to sing more often now. I will be releasing a bunch of singles in the near future. My next single will be in a similar zone as ‘Awalla’. It will also be based on a traditional tune. I get attracted to traditional compositions as they are of very high quality. I have done the lyrics for ‘Aye Zindagi’ which releases on 14 October. I have written songs for a couple of other films that will come out soon. I am also writing the screenplay and dialogues for a few films.