Vishal Mishra has got to be one of my favourite singer in the Hindi film industry. His songs are literally the best remedy for your broken heart and also relatable. Did you guys know that he started his journey with appearing in a music reality show on DD National? And also despite having not trained in music, Vishal can play about 17 instruments. So cool right? Being his loyal fan, I got super excited when I had the chance to interview him. The singer spoke about his recent release ‘Kithe‘, and all things music. Here are the excerpts from the interview.
How did the idea for ‘Kithe’ come about? ‘Aaj Bhi’, ‘Muskurayega India’, ‘Toot Jayein’ and now ‘Kithe’, you seem to be on a roll in this lockdown.
It’s been beautiful. I wanted to contribute to the positivity of people in my own way, and by my songs, whether it’s Manjha, Aaj bhi, Muskurayega India, Kithe. From giving my songs to Kabir Singh, Notebook and all of it. You know, I have been loved so much and even the studio versions, the unplugged version that I post on Instagram has been loved so much. I promise to all my people that I am going to be more active this lockdown. It’s gratifying as an artist that there are people looking forward to your work and you are being understood. As every artist seek understanding, so I feel blessed and I hope this connection with the audience goes on and on.
Every artist has their creative process, how would you describe yours?
I really don’t know how to describe my creative process because I do it all the time, I don’t know anything else. I am into music 24*7 and I don’t know if I can breathe without it and it lives in me. But the only advice that I would love to give is that I follow this process of being clean, I make sure that I am not thinking bad about someone unintentionally also. And because my mind and heart are clean it helps me to discover different knots which I think are already existing and we reach the god’s voice and find them. It sounds a little complicated but I must tell you I don’t know anything else. My creative process is that I am into the process all the time and that is how I make music.
What do you most enjoy about being a musician?
I enjoy everything about being a musician and the best part is– that I can make a song and it can fit into anybody’s reality. Sadly, I can’t experience my own songs as an audience but I remember how I used to listen to Kishore Kumar, Sonu Nigam. And all the songs that I have heard while growing up like Mohammad Rafi or the Gazals all of them had that effect on me and so many people. And I think its magical that I can sit in a room and make a song that can affect millions of people just by the quantity of reality and emotion. It’s a beautiful thing and I feel blessed and it’s the most gratifying service that I can provide by letting out my emotions, expressions, reality and when they come out, they become everybody’s. And its magical, this is the only art that cannot be taught anywhere, nobody can tell you how to make a song. And when you make a song, sing it out and people connect it’s just surreal. Feeling of being understood is surreal.
With whom have you found music production most fulfilling?
I enjoy producing music 24*7. I enjoy producing music for everybody. And everybody is so different, they give different emotions and different expression to all the things I do. Imagine, when I made music for Notebook it’s about a love story in Kashmir but when I made music for Kabir Singh it’s about a medical student in Delhi who has had anger issues and who has fallen in love for the first time so these are two different worlds. And as a singer and songwriter if I sing and compose something it is from a different world altogether. Even today, it more about a personal expression. Every song that I am making is so different from each other and it changes because of the stories, emotions and the people involved in it.
You also collaborated with Shah Rukh Khan for the song ‘Haq Hai Humara’ backed by a brand, tell us a bit about it!
It feels surreal working and associating with something that has Shah Rukh Khan sir in it. I will tell you a very small story. I was watching ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai‘ in Novelty cinema and the title track came and he spread his arms and the world stood still and when I see that 20 years later on my own song in my in my own voice, it feels surreal and I fall short of words. I can just say it gave me a good night sleep. I will be forever grateful for this and I hope that I keep making music and provided that people have loves my voice on him and I hope that I keep making music and singing for him.
Your late-night unplugged songs seem to have a separate fan base altogether. What makes you select the songs?
I don’t like calling them covers, these are songs that I have lived with and these are the songs that I love. Frankly speaking I was putting my songs on social media so I just thought just change it for a bit because I was getting bored singing my own songs and I thought why not sings songs that I love apart from the songs that I have made and it just started. It started getting viral and I am so glad that people love it and I keep singing here and there. It’s not about how famous the song is but it’s just about how close the song is to my heart. It lets the audience see a different side of me also things that I like. And I am very interactive with my fans and very close to them and I am so glad that they like it too. These all started actually during lockdown, I told them that I will be very active on Instagram and all the places where I can contribute from my side to the positivity of people and I am so glad that it happeing with my songs and covers that I am doing. I am being able to musically spread some happiness, positivity and nostalgia among people which is very gratifying as an artist.