Bollywood has added a lot to my career: Guru Randhawa

By Nivedita

New Delhi, June 9 (IANS) Guru Randhawa, who composed and sang for films like "Hindi Medium", "Tumhari Sulu", "Dil Juunglee", "Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety" and "Blackmail", and is gearing up for a nine-city tour followed by "Da-Bangg" tour in the US and Canada, says Bollywood has added a lot to his career as he feels on top of the world when people from all around the world dance to his tracks.

Asked if his presence in Bollywood has added weight to his career, Guru told IANS: "Absolutely, it has added a lot to my career."

"It is a new experience and I am getting to learn something new every day. Bollywood, no doubt has a wider acclaim and it feels top of the world to see people from all around the world dancing to my songs," the singer, whose songs like "Suit Suit", "Lagdi hai thaai", "Ban ja rani", "Kaun nachdi" and "Patola" were featured in films, said in an email interview.

His other chartbusters are "Lahore", "High rated gabru" and new release "Made In India", which received over 23,000,000 views since its launch on June 5.

Produced by T-Series, the Punjabi single is composed and written by Guru himself. It was shot in Milan with Elnaaz Norouzi and directed by Directorgifty.

What's up with Punjabi tracks doing so great in the Hindi film industry?

"Punjabi songs have been a rage in Bollywood since a very long time. The lyrics' beat and the meaning behind them give an emotional touch to their lives and connects with youth. Yes, bringing the song to Bollywood adds more charm to it and every person from the different part of the nation can hear it.

"It gives a worldwide bigger platform. But my songs were already a hit track with over 100 million views/comments and multi-hundred thousand downloads on online websites before coming to Bollywood. So, I believe it is the kind of music one makes, that makes it popular," he said.

He said the amount of talent emerging from India is incredible and Bollywood helps in enabling a platform for such artistes.

"It's a good phase for Hindi music industry with rise of independent singles too," he said.

But isn't the emergence of Punjabi tracks somehow taking away the limelight from soulful tracks?

"There is always space for good music in our country. There are soulful as well as dance tracks made even today. A movie album comprises of all situational songs. Yes, the taste of audience changes with time," he said.

It's not just Bollywood and albums that Guru is busy with. Stage performances are also his thing.

He performed at the HT Cyber Hub Friday Jam's fifth edition at Gurugram last month, as well as at the Phoenix Marketcity Kurla in Mumbai on Friday night as part of Bollyboom Guru Randhawa India Tour.

Guru says performing live is what he enjoys the most.

"When the audience resonates with my music and sings every single word from the song, the high of performing live is unmatched... The thrill, the love, the energy all makes it an unforgettable experience."

(Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)