Singer/composer Ankur Tewari has created a space for himself within the independent music scene in India with his albums Side A and Side B, and songs like ‘Aainda’, ‘Tum Badal Gaye’. He was also the music supervisor for Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy, and brought together over 60 artists to create the album for the film. Ankur spoke to The Quint about his struggles over the years, the trend of remixes in Bollywood and the independent music scene in India.
The singer/composer was born in Belgium, but grew up in Roorkee. “I came to Mumbai in 1998, and I look at all the struggle as a part of my journey. It’s never easy,” he says. His parents were avid listeners of different genres of music, and his interest in music grew over the years. “It was in college that I heard the album of Roja by AR Rahman and was completely blown away by the kind of sound that was used in the film. It was that time in my life that I had to decide what I really want to do, and I knew a career in music was that,” says Ankur.
On the current obsession of remixes in Bollywood, Ankur said that a “well done” remix was welcome. “It should be a new take on the song, which is why covers are also great. I enjoyed Vishal-Shekhar’s adaptation in the title song of Bachna Ae Haseeno.”
In OffScreen, we recount stories from the world of movies and web series, mostly featuring people who toil behind the scenes, people who basically work off-screen to create magic on screen. We also bring to you fascinating stories of actors that you might not have been privy to.
Ankur Tewari’s new track ‘Dhuaan Dhuaan’ is now out on JioSaavn.
Producer: Nandakumar Rammohan
Editor: Veeru Krishan Mohan
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