Devoted to music
My earliest memories of Anup Jalota date back to my childhood. I still remember listening to the strains of his voice blaring from the loudspeaker during the Ganesha festival in our housing colony.
Meeting him at a recent concert in Bengaluru, I was instantly impressed by his charm. I asked him what does music mean to him and the 58-year-old singer replied, “It’s my passion; it makes me happy.”
Anup Jalota’s concerts are known to be interactive; they involve a lot of audience participation. He believes that singing live is a challenge. “It is not just about vocals, you need to build a connect with people and you can do so only when you ask them to sing along. It is the only way to truly entertain the audience,” he says. However, what is saddening is that Bollywood music is the most popular genre among the masses. Its reach is phenomenal while there are very few takers for devotional music. But Jalota begs to differ. “Today, we have eight to nine television channels that are devoted to playing devotional music. The genre’s popularity is at an all-time high; I call it the golden phase of devotional music,” he remarks.
And if you thought Jalota’s talent was just limited to singing bhajans, think again. He is a renowned ghazal singer and is a film producer too. Apart from churning out music albums (he has created more than 150 till date), Jalota produces more than four to five films a year. “I have been in the production business for the last 20 years. I have a dedicated team to help me out as I do not visit the sets of the movies I produce as I am busy with my concerts.”
Some of his upcoming productions include Boys To Boys Hain, Mastak, Baaja Baja Doonga, My Beautiful Life and Haryana Roadways. He says that he selects scripts based on a simple premise, “I would like to produce movies that entertain, irrespective of their genre — whether it’s a love story, an action movie or a thriller. I also compose music for some of my projects whenever I have the time and inspiration.”
His calendar is chock-a-block with concerts across India and abroad. At 58, he constantly needs to be on the move, needs to do his riyaaz to ensure that he is well-prepared for every performance. His gruelling schedules require a lot of hard work and dedication but Jalota never complains. He rationalises, “It is strange, but every concert instills renewed energy in me. Also, when the audience appreciates my performance, it motivates me to perform better.”
Jalota has already created two albums based on the Bhagavad Gita and Ramayan and is now ready with his next album called Vedas. In spite of his achievements, he says that he constantly strives to improve his music and is inspired when he hears good singers. He feels that among the current crop of singers, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Sonu Niigaam are the ones with a unique voice.
For someone who has been presented with several awards, he shares that his most memorable achievement is when he was invited to the British Parliament by the Speaker of the House of Commons for the coveted Annual Globe Award. “Receiving the same award, which had earlier been given to great personalities like M F Hussain, was a great honour,” he reminisces.
Jalota has tasted success as a singer and producer for decades now. Ask him whom he credits it to and he says, “Appreciation and criticism help an artiste grow. I have been fortunate enough to be loved by people — my fans and well-wishers — and I owe my success to them,” he avers.
