Young blood rules Bollywood - a chat with Rahul Jain

Soulful, mesmerizing and heart touching

These are but a few tags that could be used to describe Rahul Jain. He is one of the youngest Bollywood playback singers in the industry, has recently released his song- Aanewale Kal from Vikram Bhatt’s – 1921, released 15th January. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgm33jQeh0g [/embedyt] A quintessential voice and a far-sighted artist, he is today one of the youngest Bollywood playback singers and composers, wielding considerable interest & influence among his fans. Music has always been in his blood since childhood, always fascinated by good music and got inclined towards the Centre stage as soon as he turned just 6. Hailing from Indore, grown up in a family where Music was always respected and honored, Rahul moved to Mumbai in August 2015 aspiring to give a name to his Voice. In no time, he has ruled over the hearts of millions of people with his heart touching voice. He has today become one of the leading Youtube sensations with his covers that got him 80 Million hits on his social media handles followed by never ending appreciation and craze from his fans across the country. He has not only earned a name to his voice in India but also taken it to an International Level and has done 1000 Live shows in India and abroad.

Gayathri Natarajan from Loudest had a chat with this unassuming 26 year old Artist. Here's what he had to say!

Gayathri:  How did your journey begin? Rahul: I belong to a very musical family. There was always amazing music playing at my house, when I grew up. My brother used to learn Indian Classical music. Like all siblings, we fought a lot. Whenever he sang, I used to try singing louder and higher than him, just to drown him out. That's how I started singing! Slowly, my brother introduced me to great music, and I started developing my skills too. I'm from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and my schooling was there. I started participating in competitions in School, and gradually it took me on the journey I'm on today. Like many of my fellow musicians, I took a break from music for 2 years after high school, so that I could study well and get into a good engineering college. While that did not pan out as planned, my engineering college experience gave me more opportunities to keep singing. Though I was studying civil engineering, my faculty, friends and peers encouraged me a lot to pursue music. I was a part of a few bands, and we used to jam and travel a lot. Eventually, my musical style and influences started taking the direction that I'm at today.

Gayathri:  What was your first big break?

Rahul: Well, I had started composing and singing by the time I was done with engineering. I took off as a solo artist. When I was in final year, I got the opportunity - MTV Aloft stars. It was an online contest. They were looking for a performer, who could sing his own material too. They were looking for 4 things in one person. A good performer, singer, lyricist and a composer. I managed to reach the finals and win. Around this time, Bollywood singer Arijit Singh had come to Indore to perform. I opened for him, and he was ready to release my first song! It was quite sweet of him! I came to Mumbai after that.

Gayathri:  What happened in Mumbai?

Rahul: I started meeting as many people as I could - directors, producers, managers, event guys, and started showing them the songs I wrote. My first film happened due to director Rajeev Jhaveri. He liked my music, and he gave me an opportunity to work in his film, Fever. In that film, I ended up singing 3 songs. This was my first Bollywood break. After which I started singing for many projects. I have some 10-12 Bollywood songs releasing in 2018! [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNjxNe-y068 [/embedyt] I had also sung for many jingles apart from Bollywood, and then started concentrating on my original music. This led to my  Youtube journey through the channel Pehchan Music. I started covering and reinventing 90's Bollywood music. People usually pick older songs, but I personally was in love with the 90's era. I started receiving good response. Pehchan Music and I then decided to do it every Saturday, and the rest was history. We started getting millions of hits. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gByvUTPXB-4 [/embedyt]

Gayathri: What is your opinion on the independent music vs. Bollywood music war in India, since you have been straddling both?

Rahul:  I'm very happy being a part of both these worlds. If you are a musician, it should not matter what platform you are on. My personal opinion is that independent music is picking up only now in India. When I went to Bombay 3-4 years ago, it was still just in it's nascent stage, with limited opportunities. I don't believe in these labels. If you create music independently, if it is good, it will click! The prime examples being Maaeri of Euphoria and also many Bollywood singers who have made their careers beginning with independent music. I think that its a cycle, that will keep repeating itself. I believe in good music, and as long as you keep creating good music, success is a natural progression of this journey. Yes, I agree that there are differences between Bollywood and independent music. The artistic freedom in Bollywood is limited, you work on a brief. And the brief is coming from experienced directors and producers who know what works. It's a challenging and exciting job to do too!.

Bollywood helps you reach the masses, while Independent music gives one the freedom to make music for themselves and a select audience. There is joy in both!

Gayathri: What is your advice to budding musicians, both young and old, on how to make it?

Rahul: When I came to Mumbai, I knew nobody. I think meeting people and creating your own opportunities is paramount. You will meet some great people and you will also meet some unsavory people. Both experiences are important. You should also be ready to work really hard. I now know that if I get a call about music at 3 AM, I'm ready to take it and start working on it. You might also meet people who just don't like your music, and you need to understand and accept that. You have to maintain your originality, and stay true to your goals. On that extremely pragmatic note, we at Loudest would love to direct you to some of Rahul Jain's music. Click here.