<p>Arijit Singh’s decision to step back from playback singing after wrapping up his current commitments has sent shockwaves through the Hindi film industry. While Aamir Khan made a flying visit — literally, since he was spotted flying kites — to the singer’s residence in Jiaganj, West Bengal, Lalit Pandit, speaking from Rome while on a family vacation, hopes the retirement is a sabbatical and not permanent.</p>.<p>Arijit recorded his first song in the studio for Lalit when Ramesh Taurani of Tips Music signed the 17-year-old teenager, along with two other participants of the 2005 reality show ‘Fame Gurukul’, for a six-song album. “All three —Arijit, Shamit Tyagi and Mona Bhatt — were very good, but Arijit was so well-rehearsed that I didn’t have to pay any attention to him when he was dubbing,” recalls the composer.</p>.<p>Unfortunately, the album was never released, neither was his ‘Yun shabnami’ for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Saawariya’. Arijit was voted out of ‘Fame Gurukul’ following a controversy, but the following year, he aced ‘10 Ke 10 Le Gaye Dil’, a musical showdown featuring winners and top contestants from multiple reality shows, and subsequently moved to Mumbai.</p>.No AI can replace a filmmaker’s vision: Prasanna Vithanage.<p>He made his playback debut with ‘Phir mohabbat’ for the 2011 thriller, ‘Murder 2’, followed by songs for ‘Agent Vinod’, ‘Cocktail’, ‘Players’ and ‘Barfi’. The breakthrough came in 2013, with ‘Aashiqui 2’’s ‘Tum hi ho’, and since then there has been no looking back for the ‘Channa meriya’ and ‘Kesariya’ singer.</p>.<p>Lalit, who split with brother Jatin after they bagged an award for ‘Fanaa’, admits that while there are no parallels here, he is very surprised by Arijit’s premature call. Remembering how the singer added so much to his compositions, he says, “It is said that you don’t leave this industry, the industry leaves you and he is at his peak. Music is a gift of god and Arijit is a god-gifted singer. His exit will be a huge blow to the industry.”</p>.<p>Nikkhil Advani, whose favourite Arijit song is ‘Soch na sake’ from ‘Airlift’, agrees, reiterating that he seems to have god’s hand on his head, and his exit will be a huge blow to music in general. The filmmaker shares that composer Shankar Mahadevan still reminds him how he replaced Arijit when he got the young singer to sing ‘Ya rabba’ for his 2007 film ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’ because he wanted that Sufi quality that Kailash Kher brought to the song. “I’m just grateful that Arijit subsequently forgot this and sang so many of my other songs, bringing his mark to them and elevating them,” says Nikkhil.</p>.<p>Reacting to the singer’s statement that he is bored and need to do some other music to live, the producer-director adds feelingly, “I guess most artistes look for other avenues to get energy and inspiration, and once he finds that with the film he wants to make, I hope he will come back.”</p>.<p>Arijit has assured his fans that he will continue making music. This would mean independent music via his channel and live performances. Lalit believes that it’s a good trend that indie music, which is thriving in the West, is catching on here. It is giving singers IP rights to their music. But he also reminds that when Shah Rukh Khan sings a ‘Gerua’ or ‘Haawaayein’ on screen, it is heard by millions across the world as compared to private songs.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The music director acknowledges that Arijit was always different, staying away from Mumbai and even award shows, untouched by glamour. He was not even enamoured by the money that anchors many to the industry. Simple and spiritually inclined, the singer may believe he has reached saturation point as far as film songs go, and wants to leave the field open to new voices, but Lalit hopes he will reconsider his decision. “I’ve seen many great artistes being replaced, there is so much talent in Mumbai and the film industry is quick to forget. But my heart tells me Arijit will be back,” he says fervently. </p>.<p class="bodytext"><br />(The author is a senior journalist)</p>
<p>Arijit Singh’s decision to step back from playback singing after wrapping up his current commitments has sent shockwaves through the Hindi film industry. While Aamir Khan made a flying visit — literally, since he was spotted flying kites — to the singer’s residence in Jiaganj, West Bengal, Lalit Pandit, speaking from Rome while on a family vacation, hopes the retirement is a sabbatical and not permanent.</p>.<p>Arijit recorded his first song in the studio for Lalit when Ramesh Taurani of Tips Music signed the 17-year-old teenager, along with two other participants of the 2005 reality show ‘Fame Gurukul’, for a six-song album. “All three —Arijit, Shamit Tyagi and Mona Bhatt — were very good, but Arijit was so well-rehearsed that I didn’t have to pay any attention to him when he was dubbing,” recalls the composer.</p>.<p>Unfortunately, the album was never released, neither was his ‘Yun shabnami’ for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Saawariya’. Arijit was voted out of ‘Fame Gurukul’ following a controversy, but the following year, he aced ‘10 Ke 10 Le Gaye Dil’, a musical showdown featuring winners and top contestants from multiple reality shows, and subsequently moved to Mumbai.</p>.No AI can replace a filmmaker’s vision: Prasanna Vithanage.<p>He made his playback debut with ‘Phir mohabbat’ for the 2011 thriller, ‘Murder 2’, followed by songs for ‘Agent Vinod’, ‘Cocktail’, ‘Players’ and ‘Barfi’. The breakthrough came in 2013, with ‘Aashiqui 2’’s ‘Tum hi ho’, and since then there has been no looking back for the ‘Channa meriya’ and ‘Kesariya’ singer.</p>.<p>Lalit, who split with brother Jatin after they bagged an award for ‘Fanaa’, admits that while there are no parallels here, he is very surprised by Arijit’s premature call. Remembering how the singer added so much to his compositions, he says, “It is said that you don’t leave this industry, the industry leaves you and he is at his peak. Music is a gift of god and Arijit is a god-gifted singer. His exit will be a huge blow to the industry.”</p>.<p>Nikkhil Advani, whose favourite Arijit song is ‘Soch na sake’ from ‘Airlift’, agrees, reiterating that he seems to have god’s hand on his head, and his exit will be a huge blow to music in general. The filmmaker shares that composer Shankar Mahadevan still reminds him how he replaced Arijit when he got the young singer to sing ‘Ya rabba’ for his 2007 film ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’ because he wanted that Sufi quality that Kailash Kher brought to the song. “I’m just grateful that Arijit subsequently forgot this and sang so many of my other songs, bringing his mark to them and elevating them,” says Nikkhil.</p>.<p>Reacting to the singer’s statement that he is bored and need to do some other music to live, the producer-director adds feelingly, “I guess most artistes look for other avenues to get energy and inspiration, and once he finds that with the film he wants to make, I hope he will come back.”</p>.<p>Arijit has assured his fans that he will continue making music. This would mean independent music via his channel and live performances. Lalit believes that it’s a good trend that indie music, which is thriving in the West, is catching on here. It is giving singers IP rights to their music. But he also reminds that when Shah Rukh Khan sings a ‘Gerua’ or ‘Haawaayein’ on screen, it is heard by millions across the world as compared to private songs.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The music director acknowledges that Arijit was always different, staying away from Mumbai and even award shows, untouched by glamour. He was not even enamoured by the money that anchors many to the industry. Simple and spiritually inclined, the singer may believe he has reached saturation point as far as film songs go, and wants to leave the field open to new voices, but Lalit hopes he will reconsider his decision. “I’ve seen many great artistes being replaced, there is so much talent in Mumbai and the film industry is quick to forget. But my heart tells me Arijit will be back,” he says fervently. </p>.<p class="bodytext"><br />(The author is a senior journalist)</p>