There are some singers whose voice sounds distinctively different from the rest. Jubin Nautiyal has a wonderful, icy chill voice that takes the songs, he lends his voice to, several notches higher. The voice behind hit songs like ‘Ek Mulaqaat’ (‘Sonali Cable’), ‘Zindagi’ (‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’), ‘Kaabil Hoon’ (‘Kaabil’), gets talking about his new song from Vishesh Films’ ‘Jalebi’, shares his experience of his voice getting dubbed by another singer, making an independent album and upcoming songs.
Your new song ‘Tum Se’ from ‘Jalebi’ is a really nice, haunting melody. Is there a particular reason why only the audio, and not the video, has been released?
The makers came up a very interesting way to present this song to the audience. The song was there in the trailer itself. The trailer is the first look of the film and it is a very interesting thought to put in the soul of the song in the trailer itself. When people saw the trailer, they could relate to it a little better because the song acted as a narrative device. The audio track has got so much love and I am sure when the video comes out, people will like it too.
When is the video releasing?
I think it should come out in the next couple of days.
This is composer duo Samuel and Akanksha’s first released song. How was the experience of collaborating with them?
I have worked with a lot of composers when they were starting their career. Some of my biggest hits have been with new composers. I dubbed ‘Tum Se’ for Samuel and Akanksha six years back. The song was quite different back then. Last year, when they went to Bhatt Saab with the song, he loved it and decided to incorporate it in the film. Samuel and Akanksha are married to each other and compose songs together. I have heard some of the other songs they have created. They are very talented and have a very bright future.
The last time we talked, you were very excited about the song you had sung for Mohit Suri’s ‘Half Girlfriend’. The song was ‘Baarish’ and the final version did not have your voice in it. You had also expressed your disappointment at the same. Do you think it is a healthy trend to try multiple voices for a song?
Are you sure ‘Baarish’ did not have my voice in it (laughs)? This was the first time I had experienced something like that. Later, I discovered that this is a common practice in the industry today. Most of the singers go through this. This is not something that makes me very happy but I guess one has to deal with it. My aim to deliver my best as a singer whenever I am behind the mic.
You are mostly associated with soft romantic numbers. Would you like to sing an out-and-out dance number someday?
I have sung songs like ‘The Humma Song’ (‘OK Jaanu’) and Socha Hai’ (‘Baadshaho’) which were techno-based dance numbers. Yes, there was an underlying romanticism in them but they were very different from the kind of stuff people have usually seen me doing. I also sung ‘Holi Biraj Ma’ which was a fun, celebratory song. ‘Akh Lad Jaave’ from ‘Loveyatri’ is also a club number. Every singer has his own style. My reflection is romance and love and that comes across in every song I sing.
You started out with a music reality show. Do you think such shows are a good platform for young people to showcase their talent?
It is a good platform but they should not treat it as the end game. Your hard work and passion is going to shape your career. The platform will get you an audience but then, you have to work really hard to connect to them. It is important to keep working on getting better at your craft. You cannot afford to make mistakes when you get the platform.
You play the guitar very well. Do you intend to compose music for films?
I do compose music. When I was growing up, we used to have albums by KK, Shaan and Lucky Ali. There was this amazing Indipop phase which eventually died out. Somewhere down the line, I would like to do a full-fledged album myself. Right now, nobody does albums as the market operates differently. I would like to come up with an independent album someday. It will be have five or six songs revolving around a particular theme.
Can you share something about your upcoming songs?
I recently shot for a music video titled ‘Humdum Mere’ in Venice. It was released by T-Series a couple of weeks back. As far as film songs are concerned, three new tracks will be coming out very soon.