Ankit Tiwari talks about his journey as a singer, music composer, the importance of his mother in his life and more. By Ankita Jain
In an attempt to look like a rockstar with ripped jeans, black jacket paired with springblade running shoes, singer Ankit Tiwari, rather than looking like one, came across as simple, confident yet refreshingly humble person with realistic aspirations. More at ease speaking in Hindi than in English, the seemingly overnight success story of Ankit after the song Sun Raha Hai from Aashiqui 2, has seen many ups and downs. Sipping his cup of masala tea, he narrated about his grounded upbringing in a musically inclined family and a strong support system backing him all the way.
There was a time when he almost gave up in his early years of struggling. “I almost did. And my brother has been struggling since the age of 15. He was one of the composers for the Do Dooni Chaar soundtrack at age 18 in 2010. And I take strength from that. I am very serious about my career. I left my native place to come to Mumbai, got routinely cheated, was verbally abused, had phones and doors slammed on me. All my work and time was going down the drain. I even didn’t get credit for few of my work. I was disillusioned,” said Ankit.
“In my initial days I used to work as a production head at a radio station in Gwalior before coming to Mumbai. I composed a couple of background scores for television programmes before getting a break with Do Dooni Chaar and Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster,” he added.
And then Aashiqui 2 came into picture, “It was through a friend of mine from lucknow who had Bollywood connections. He called Mahesh Bhatt and talked about me. I was lucky enough that Bhatt sir called me back and asked me to give my best five songs. I did that, I gave a live presentation on piano and the first song I made him hear was Sun Raha Hai. This was about a year before Aashiqui 2 released. He heard all the five songs and told me, ‘I like them all, but I don’t know when I can use them all. But do call me before you give them to someone else.’ To tell you the truth, I had composed them keeping in mind their signature style,” he gushed.
He had been exposed to music since a very young age as his parents run a music troupe in Kanpur. “I used to perform with my mother when I was young. This groomed me in a major way. I also started learning classical music at a very young age from teachers such as the esteemed Pandit Vinod Kumar Dwivedi and Shanker lal Bhatt. All this made me what I am today and gave me a base from which my music career in the future would grow.”
The singer cum composer popular for his romantic numbers quoted, “People usually call me for love songs or songs of separation, which I love composing. But I don’t want to restrict myself to a particular genre. I am doing a variety of songs, which I hope the audience will appreciate.”
He also came up with his first single Badtameez this year and is planning for another by the end of 2017. “My first single was more of guitar and rock-oriented music. It had a heavy rock influence and gave a glimpse of my rebellious side,” he smiled. His first single was also one of those broken heart songs for which he also took a five-day acting workshop. Talking about his next, he added, “I havn’t started working on it. But again even this one will infuse rock.” The music industry’s switch to singles over albums seems to be the lastest trend over the past two years.
He marked the arrival as a singer-composer and now he has placed his best foot forward as music producer with Tum Bin 2. “Director Anubhav Sinha and producer Bhushan Kumar were kind enough to give me the responsibility of Tum Bin 2. This is my first project as a solo producer. Adding to that, I have also given the background score for the same. They gave me an opportunity to rework on songs that they felt were not up to the mark. Their faith in me worked as a confidence booster and we got the desired results,” said Ankit.
When asked whether it is more challenging to create music for a sequel, he explained, “Expectations are high so you have to give 200 per cent. But, there is no competition with the old songs. The ones who created these songs have more experience than my age. So we haven’t tried competing with Tum Bin in Tum Bin 2. It was the same when I worked on Aashiqui 2.” Most of his hit songs have one thing in common, it has a female version to it too, “In Aashiqui 2, the situation demanded it. We had to establish the connection that the heroine sings the hero’s superhit. In EkVIllain, it was a promotional activity. But it’s the director’s call. He remains the captain of the ship. And Teri Fariyad, the newest rendition of the famous ghazal Koi Fariyaad that has been recreated for Tum Bin 2, has Rekha Bhardwaj’s vocals. The original one featured Jagjit Singh’s soulful voice.
Adding further about the only song he sang in the film, he said, “Every song has a different demand and bringing in more voices brings versatility to your project. Moreover, it was a conscious effort to not sing. I am a music composer first and that is my priority. So I’ve just sung the title track, but all the songs of this film are very close to my heart. They are all my babies.”
Talking about the actors turning singers fad, the singer explained, “Well, I don’t think it will carry forward. Both are different fields. I’ve acted once (in Aashiqui 2, where he and his brother Ankur played themselves), but it was an impromptu cameo and something Mohit Suri wanted us to do. It’s not really acting and it’s not what I normally do. I acted once, but I cannot always do that. I do support it sometimes when it benefits the film through its promotional value. Salman, Alia and Shraddha did it to support their films. But it doesn’t necessarily mean they will continue singing. It all depends on what the stars feel comfortable with. Not everyone can sing the harkatein (nuances) and with depth as that needs training. I feel it is the director’s responsibility and risk. If it works, you’re sorted.”
Sharing his views on whether it is good or a bad time to be a singer today. Good because the industry is open to experimentation and bad because even an average unpolished voice can be easily altered to sound flawless, thanks to technology, he said, “I strongly believe that music comes from the soul and no amount of technology can manufacture that. At the end of the day, if you don’t have your heart and soul in it, technology would be of no use whatsoever.” Beside romantic numbers, Ankit looked keen towards working in a horror flick as a composer of playback singer. “I love watching horror films. From Sinister to Insidious 2, I have watched all. I gave my voice for one romantic song in the so-called horror film Alone which featured Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover,” he laughed. “I want to work in authentic horror films and also with AR Rehman in one of his projects,” he added. He concluded advising newcomers who choose reality shows as a medium to start their careers, “I believe, it’s not just talent that works in this industry, one should be capable to make right decisions as well. And the other thing which works the most is the destiny.”