Do you remember the 2008 song ‘Emptiness- Tune Mere Jaana’? Yes, the same one which became insanely viral the moment it came out. And now, more than a decade later, its singer, Gajendra Verma, has become a sensation! If you follow Hindi music, you’d also know how his latest track ‘Tera Ghata‘ has become a blockbuster. On the occasion of World Music Day, the talented singer exclusively talked to us about this very first song Emptiness, his love for music, his dream project and much more!
Hi Gajendra. First of all, tell us all about yourself and how did you get into singing?
I’m from Sirsa, Haryana, and I have done my schooling from Jaipur, Rajasthan. I’ve always liked to sing from my childhood and music is like a part of the family. Everyone in my family sings! I came to Mumbai for my sound engineering and that’s when my music career started.
‘Emptiness’ has got to be the song which made you super popular. How did that song happen?
Yes, so I was in my college’s last year and all the recordings of Emptiness were done in my college studios. I think it got leaked from there and I still don’t have any idea how it got leaked! Thankfully, it went viral all over the internet. If you can recall, there was a fake story associated with it!
Yes, we remember. So, fast forwarding to present, how do you feel seeing your latest song ‘Tera Ghata‘ becoming a chartbuster?
I feel really grateful for the audience who are supporting independent music and are looking out for new artists, new songs. Not only just Bollywood, which gives me and a lot of other artists who are aspiring to be independent musicians to just write their songs and present them to the audience. Now the audience is more open towards new music and every kind of thing because of the internet. So I’m really really grateful that ‘Tera Ghata’ did so well. It was a song which was based on something happened in my life and I am really thankful that people connected to it so nicely as how I felt it, they felt it too so yeah it was a great feeling.
Which city do love performing in? Which city do you feel has a musically inclined and knowledgeable audience?
Everywhere in India people love and enjoy music a lot. And everywhere I go people are so welcoming and so patiently they listen to when we play live. But to name a few I think Pune, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Assam, Guwahati, Kolkata. These are really inclined towards music, they really enjoy it.
What has been the most memorable project/song you have worked on and why?
I think the most rememberable song for me would be ‘Khelegi Kya’ because its something which I have not done before. It’s a hip hop track and I have danced also in the video as well so it was fun doing the song. The video, audio, and lyrics are all done by me and it gives me a new experience altogether so I think the latest one ‘Khelegi Kya’ would be my most memorable till now.
Amazing! What does singing and music mean to you?
Music is like a big part of my life. And I do everything is with music, you know if I’m walking, shopping, eating, I’m talking with someone. Music is always on my mind, I’m listening to it, I’m making it or something or the other is going in my head related to music. So, I can say that music defines my life and I think that it can be somewhat true.
What would you say is your dream project?
My dream project would be, to do a live show in India in which at least 60-70 thousand people are there and you know that’s like a dream come true for me. And I’ve always dreamt that since childhood. So hopefully one day we’ll do that in India. The thing is now, people are starting to go to a live concert in India. So you know it’s like a new trend, a new beginning so I think the day is near when I get to see my dream come true.
Lastly, which other singers and music directors, would you want to collaborate in the future?
There are a lot of good singers and good music directors I want to work with and especially, of course, my all-time favorite idol A.R. Rahman and Lucky Ali is one. I want to sing with KK once, and yes maybe Sunidhi Chauhan also.
(Featured Image Source: Facebook/iVermaGajendra)
