After winning hearts with popular covers like Ladki Badi Anjani Hai, Kuch Is Tarah Hai, Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein etc on YouTube, Piyush Shankar, music composer, singer is being appreciated for Naina Yeh, a romantic track in Article 15 featuring Ayushmann Khurrana and Isha Talwar. This marks his Bollywood debut as a composer. Sung by Yasser Desai and Akanksha Sharma, the song has already received 14 million views on YouTube.
Piyush, who comes from the Jaipur gharana of Indian classical music, is a Kathak dancer and also a multi-instrumentalist. He can play more than 20 instruments and has been producing music for four years before gradually moving on to compose tunes. He debuted as a composer with a single Darmiyaan, three years ago. Chatting up the artist...
Your song Naina Yeh has been quite a rage amongst those who love melody and romantic tracks. How does it feel?
It feels great that I am getting an amazing response for my song. I am thankful to god and all the listeners who have appreciated my work. I am grateful for all the love and messages that I have been receiving from people all over the world.
Article 15 is an intense film on a socially-relevant subject, but this composition is soft, melodious and romantic. Was this break intentional?
Article 15 is a very serious film and the song is extremely soft and romantic. It gives you a relief from the intense storyline, in which you can see an amazing chemistry between Ayushmann and Isha Talwar. The melody arrangement and the composition of this track will give you a nostalgic feel.
What are the things that you keep in mind while doing a cover?
I have done a couple of covers on YouTube and the response on the platform has been great so far. It feels great when people like your voice and support you. It means that they want to listen to these songs in a new way. I am careful when I’m doing these cover — whatever track I create, I ensure that it doesn’t sound exactly like the original melody but has a newness to it. For example, I recently recreated Ladki Badi Anjani Hai and made sure that there was a new arrangement to the composition so that it is a new reprised version of the original track. The idea is to make a love-romantic kind of ballad. The song was received well and got more than 8 million views. Whatever I create, I want to add my essence to it.
Who are some of the artists and directors that you aspire to work with?
There is such an amazing pool of talent in our country. I have grown up listening to their work and admiring them. I would love to associate with all of them, but more specifically Asha Bhosaleji and Sonu Nigamji.
What are your upcoming projects?
I am working on some singles and composing for a few films. I hope you’ll like them too.
