EXCLUSIVE: ‘If I act, I will act for music’— Jubin Nautiyal
Tall, fair, long luscious hair with curls that cascade down to his broad shoulder, a smile that makes his fans go crazy and a melodious voice that leaves everyone in a trance. No, he’s not an actor. Meet Jubin Nautiyal, a prolific singer who has not only won the hearts of many with his romantic Bollywood songs but has also carved a niche for himself with soulful spiritual singing. We meet Jubin at an exclusive fan meetup organised by Wynk Music where we chat about his latest album, the future of the Indian music industry and lots more.
How was your experience at the Wynk fan meet up? What do you think about the fan-artiste meet-up culture?
From small studios, we have taken some responsibility to make big songs. When we make a song and it eventually comes out, people listen to it, live with that song, and make memories with that song. The fans love that song more than I do. That’s what I saw in the Wynk fan meet-up meetup.
There is a saying, that if an artiste gets a clap, then he gets spoiled. So, this is the clap for which we work hard. And when such moments happen, we feel that we have got the result.
I think since social media was activated there is no mystery. Back in the '80s and '90s, because there were no phones and no moment to capture from the camera, people used to go crazy when they saw celebrities. And the good thing is, it's not like that now. Because, as a nation, we need to grow. We need to adjust and understand that celebrities are also human beings. And we should never take advantage of this. No celebrity should take advantage of this. I think this is a good practice. The fans give you a very correct review of how you are being perceived by the audience. It’s a great beginning from Wink to connect the artist and the fans. I think you get a lot of perspective in life.
Tell us more about your new album Tum Aaye Ho Toh?
We are making so many songs now and we forget to listen to them. We don't even want to listen to them. But I always wanted to do music where I could listen to those songs again and again and cherish them. I think legacy songs are what we need.
For instance, songs like Tum Hi Aana (Marjaavaan), Tujhe Kitna Chahein Aur Hum (Kabir Singh), and Raataan Lambiyan (Shershaah), are legacy songs. If I don't sing on stage, people will not let me leave the stage. So that is the target. To make music that I feel proud of even after 10 years.
We had never thought of making an album. We just made songs. And there were some songs that we listened to for 5-6 years and they were still fresh for us. We could still listen to those songs and still enjoy them. That's when we selected those songs as part of the album.
First films, independent albums and now you are moving toward Bhajans…
Actually, I had a couple of spiritual songs that became famous. So, I was amongst the first guys from this generation who started doing bhajans so actively. We did Kabir Ke Dohe and some other things. The intention was not to do something like this. The intention was that no one is doing devotional music. When we were young, we used to listen to many bhajans of Gulshan Kumarji. We get our sanskars from our bhajans.
If you see in life, you feel lost, you are not getting the answer to anything… Sometimes, there are some personal problems and some work-related problems. bhajan is a space where you get a perspective and clarity in life. I didn't want a whole generation to have never heard of bhajans. So, that's the thought through which we started doing bhajans.
It was a brave step as an artist. When an artiste is at a good stage in his career, he doesn't want to sing bhajans. So, that was a brave step from my end as an artist. It paid off very well. Today, when we are playing concerts in colleges, around 1 lakh kids are dancing to bhajans. It just tells me that the future is in safe hands.
Earlier, no one used to sing bhajans. Now, that it has started working, everyone will start singing. Intention matters a lot. When everyone is doing it, I don't feel like doing it. I want to do it when no one is doing it.
It has spirituality as well as lessons about life. Just like Kabir's dohas, these are basic things that you will learn every moment. If these things continue in the muscle memory, I think the sanskars will also come. After all, we are all Indians. It is better not to forget that.
What is the future of indie music in India?
Definitely, there is a lot of money in film projects. Music is a big platform for film. But, today we are in a time where if a girl will even look at the camera and make expressions, the video will be sensationalized. We are living in a time which is very good for artists. There are a lot of artistes like me who have come from small cities. Today, they don't need a music label. They can make their own on YouTube channel. It's bringing new types of music artists. Artists who don't have money or resources can do it. Even teachers can do it. This wave of content creation is not only increasing India's creativity but also India's thoughts of creativity.
Do you think there is an audience for all this creative music?
People listen to everything. From Arijit Singh to Dhinchak Pooja, everything has an audience. There is a market for every song and that just makes us believe that there is nothing like a bad song. Some songs are liked by the whole country and some are only liked by a fraction. It's a big rise for our nation.
How is it touring as an Indian artiste around the world?
India is already booming right now in terms of music. We are creating hits which are bigger than anywhere else. I know a lot of international artistes who want to work in India and collaborate with us because we are a big audience. We are so many that every fourth or fifth person in this world is an Indian. We go to do shows in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Trinidad, Tobago, and America. If you go to Europe, there are around 2,000-3,000 Indians in such places. Indian artists are touring everywhere in the world. We just toured in Australia and it's crazy. It's not just about music. There are people who come to support their artists. There are many Indians who live abroad who may not even know me as an artist. But because an Indian artist has come to perform from India, they will buy the ticket and they will go and watch the show and that's the power of our nation. We are going to be the number one country in the world.
It's not just your singing that people are fans of. How do you maintain your looks? What is your secret to good hair and skin?
I think hair has everything to do with sleep. If you can sleep well, you will have good hair. And all that ‘eat this and that’ is fake. Hair is something that works genetically. You can maintain it but eventually what's going to save your hair and keep it healthy is good quality sleep and good food. The same goes for the skin. You don't need medicines and extra care for anything else.
Have you considered acting?
If I act, I will act for music. Like for the album that I did. I didn't know I could act but now I have learnt that I can. I can be an actor if it comes down to it. But again, it's a different ball game altogether and I worked very hard to be a musician. If I get a project where I can do great music and act for it, why not?
One artist you want to collaborate with?
I want to go all indie and folk with collaborations. There are some brilliant folk artists from my own region that I would love to collaborate with. They call him the Rahman of our mountains, Narendra Singh Negi. Brilliant composer. So I am working on some of his compositions that he has done. I believe all those compositions are international hits.