‘Popularity must be respected rather than being hated on’: Anuv Jain
One of the most beautiful effects of music is its power to resurface memories, and make us experience lived moments again. Listening to a song which brings back memories of our past relationships with a love so pure, it brings a smile to your face with cheeks turning red; isn’t this one of the best feelings? Anuv Jain’s heartfelt songs evoke this emotion in everyone—a sweet nostalgia of a peaceful, cradling love.
This viral crooner gained immense popularity after his song Baarishein broke all records on Instagram. The song was also a catalyst for the growing trend of soft acoustic music with real stories and heartfelt lyrics. With an aim to make the people feel emotions deeply, Anuv writes about “love in the most beautiful sense.”
Ahead of House of McDowell's Soda Yaari Jam 2025 (in Pune on May 10), we speak to him about vulnerability on stage, his cover art, the indie music scene in India and much more.
How did your collaboration with McDowell’s Soda Yaari Jam come to be?
My music has always been about emotions, connections, and stories that people can relate to—and 'yaari', or friendship, is at the heart of so many of those compositions. Collaborating with House of McDowell's Soda Yaari Jam, a platform that celebrates Yaari and moments with your Yaars, felt like a natural fit. It wasn’t just about performing—it was about being part of a space that brings people together through music, memories, and shared moments. This time its even more special because I’ll be sharing the stage with Zaeden, a very close yaar.
Most of your songs touch upon the themes of love. Is there a particular reason why you choose these themes?
No particular reason. I feel like love is a very strong emotion, so it just makes a lot of sense to write about it. I’m still young and I’ve been in and out of many relationships which have shaped my life, so these themes come very naturally. Maybe one day when I feel like writing about myself, I just will. I don’t actively sit down and think about what to write.
As you often talk about personal incidents in your songs, do you feel a hint of vulnerability during performances? How do you deal with it?
I do talk about my personal life on stage, but never give away too much. I think that if someone is listening to an artiste’s work, they should know about the background, and these stories are the things that shaped my life. I love my audience and want them to be involved, so I share certain things. But I think I’ve found a good balance between how much I want to share and how much I want to keep to myself
With newer dating terms and kinds of relationships coming up, do you adapt your musical storytelling to that?
I don’t think so. My song Husn is about situationships, but I don’t think the concept of that is very new. It’s been there for a very long time, but just the term was coined now. But obviously since I’m very active on social media, I see and understand what exactly is going on out there, so I’m sure it does creep into my music somewhere. I’m not actively looking to appease the newer generation, I just write about love in the most beautiful sense, and people can interpret it how they’d like.
With Husn as well, some people took it in the context of two people being together without labels, and some interpreted as the old-school one-sided love. Every generation has a different perspective.
Do you aim to convey any messages through your songs?
Not any particular message, but I want people to feel something when they listen to my songs. My philosophy behind my music is that I want the words to stay with people longer than a normal song. I want to make something so impactful that even after years, a line might just strike you and you'd be like, oh my God, this is so beautiful.
What is the one thing you like about the indie music scene in India and one thing you’d like to change?
I think we're in the golden era of music making, because we have so many people trying so many new things. We have platforms like Apple Music which has made it easier for independent artistes to put out their music, and I absolutely love that there are multiple people making use of that. The diversity is insane.
What I dislike is how audience reacts to popularity. When an artiste is relatively underground, a lot of people back them up. But when more people find out about them, the love turns to the negative side. Popularity must be respected and embraced rather than being hated on.
What makes Anuv, Anuv?
I think it's probably my simplicity, my life. I think I have a very good general sense of how people feel and how I feel. And I'm pretty self-aware as well. I think that when you are self-aware and you understand how people feel, you can write something that would obviously be a part of you, but also would resonate with millions of people out there
The cover art of each of your songs is very interesting. Can you walk us through the idea behind them?
Since I was a child, I used to love sketching. In fact, I wanted to become a comic book artist. I wanted to incorporate it in my music as well, and what better way than to use it in cover art? We look for artists to collaborate with, and try to keep it in line with the story of the song. I want people to go back to art work after listening to the music and point out ‘oh, this is why this artwork was made’.
