Shahjahanpur-lad Hira Thind, who started as actor and eventually found his calling in music, wants to make it big in the regional music industry. Currently, busy doing Punjabi projects, he has plans to excel there before jumping on the Bollywood bandwagon.
“My forefathers are from Punjab and then my grandfather shifted to Powayan in UP. So, Punjabi lingo and folk came naturally to me. Main yahin (Chandigarh) main reh kar itni shiddat se kaam karna chahta hoon ki Bollywood se khud call aa jaye,” says the 22-year-old singer.
Last year, he released his debut single Mere Jinna Pyaar and his second independent song Speciality that crossed 1 million views in two weeks.
The singer, originally named Virender Singh, initially wanted to become an actor. “Since a kid, I wanted to become an actor. When I was 12, I went alone to Delhi to train under Asmita Theatre Group founder Arvind Gaur. He asked me to get an initial training in my hometown which is a hub of theatre and gave me example of Rajpal Yadav who has made our city proud,” he recalls.
He returned and joined theatre group Abhivyakti Natya Manch under Shamim Azad. “Since a kid, my mother always calls me Hira, so I made it my screen name. I worked backstage and then acted in plays like Virasat, Dara-Sikoh and Sparatcus. Slowly, I got interested in music. I also composed music for plays like Ek Prayas, Katha Ek Kans Ki and others,” he shares.
{{/usCountry}}He returned and joined theatre group Abhivyakti Natya Manch under Shamim Azad. “Since a kid, my mother always calls me Hira, so I made it my screen name. I worked backstage and then acted in plays like Virasat, Dara-Sikoh and Sparatcus. Slowly, I got interested in music. I also composed music for plays like Ek Prayas, Katha Ek Kans Ki and others,” he shares.
{{/usCountry}}In 2018, he moved to Punjab for formal training in music. “I learned music from Ustad Baldeep Singh Balli and Ustad Harvinder Bittu. Then I have worked on folk music of UP and Punjab as it’s very rich in folk. There may be a difference in language but emotions in folk are same everywhere which I try to add in my singing.”
The singer is elated that actor Rajpal Yadav, film maker Vikash Verma (director of No Means No) and others have tweeted praising his song.
“Vikashji has even expressed desire to work with me someday. Seeing the response, labels are also approaching me. Now, I just want to focus more on my singles and utilize my theatre training to be in front of the camera for my videos,” he adds.