Anurag Basu on Arijit Singh's retirement from playback singing: ‘Was not at all surprised’

In a recent interview, Anurag Basu revealed that singer Arijit Singh has long been inclined to explore life behind the camera.

Amid swirling rumours of singer Arijit Singh making a foray into film direction after retiring from playback singing, filmmaker Anurag Basu has added fuel to the buzz by recalling an old Barfi! anecdote. The director revealed that the singer had once expressed a keen interest in assisting him on the film’s sets.

Anurag on Arijit’s decision

Anurag Basu has worked closely with Arijit Singh on films such as Barfi! and Metro… In Dino.

Since the announcement, social media has been rife with speculation about what Arijit’s next move could be. Several social media users across Reddit and other platforms have been debating whether the singer might be gearing up to step into film direction. However, Arijit has yet to address the chatter or make any official confirmation.

Amid the ongoing chatter, Anurag, in an interview with BBC Hindi, revealed that the singer has long been inclined to explore life behind the camera. Anurag has worked closely with Arijit on films such as Barfi! and Metro… In Dino.

“The world was in shock after learning about Arijit Singh’s decision, but I was not at all surprised or shocked. I have known him for a long time and feel he is very talented and wishes to do more apart from singing,” Anurag said.

Earlier this week, Arijit surprised everyone by announcing that he is stepping away from playback singing. The singer took to social media to make the announcement, revealing that he will not be taking on any new assignments.

"Hello, Happy New Year to all. I want to thank you all for giving me so much of love all these years as listeners. I am happy to announce that I am not gonna be taking any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey," read his note.

Later, the singer, through a string of tweets on his private X account, shared that his decision to retire from playback singing stems from not one but multiple reasons

He wrote, “Plus I have been trying to do this for a long time. Finally, I have gathered the right courage. One of the reasons was simple, I get bored pretty quick, that's why I keep changing arrangements of the same songs and perform them on stage. So here is the thing: I got bored. I need to do some other music to live.”

Arijit added, “Another reason is I am excited to hear some singer come up and give me real motivation.” The singer clarified that he is not stopping making music and is instead starting all over again by returning to Indian classical music. He added that he would continue to create his own music.