HT City Vibe of 25: Why has life come 'a full circle' for Mohit Chauhan

Singer-songwriter Mohit Chauhan talks about his return to the non-film music space with his studio album, Musafir.

It was 25 years ago that Delhi-based musician Mohit Chauhan, after the release of his band Silk Route’s debut album Boondein, first took the stage as a performing musician. Now, 57, on the heels of releasing yet another studio album (Musafir), Chauhan agrees that he has indeed come a full circle.

Singer Mohit Chauhan has released his album Musafir after a gap of 14 years

“After Boondein and Pehchaan (his second album; released in 2000), I got involved with film music. My last album was Fitoor which released in 2009/10, and so it finally feels like I have come back to the non-film music space after a long gap. And it is where I always wanted to be when I started,” says the Kun Faya Kun singer, who launched the first song of his album, Duur, in Delhi, over the weekend.

Known for Bollywood songs such as Tum Se Hi (Jab We Met, 2007), Dooriyan (Love Aaj Kal, 2009) and Matargashti (Tamasha, 2015), Chauhan maintains that while film music has its charm, it remains “someone else’s imagination”. “It is someone else’s story. While I am grateful to be a part of them, I [always] wanted to create my own sound,” he asserts.

Be it Dooba Dooba, Sabse Peeche Hum Khade or Tum Ho (Rockstar, 2011), he explains why he thinks so many of his hits feature in travel playlists after all these years: “The core emotion is nostalgia. The melodies are such that whether you are with family, friends or even alone, they just stick with you."