Besides soulful film and non-film tracks, a genre of music that’s extremely close to singer Papon’s heart is ghazal. An integral part of all his concert setlists, the musician admits that a large section of the audience that requests him to sing ghazal at gigs are college students.
“After Jagjit Singh (late singer), no one has created fresh sound for ghazal; what we hear today are mostly classics. I’m trying to change that and the response has been encouraging. Nowadays, college students and young audiences request me to sing ghazal at my concerts, which proves that Indians still have a deep-rooted love for the art form. We must revive it,” says the singer, who is set to release two ghazal albums.
Speaking about the albums he’s working on, the Moh Moh Ke Dhagey (Dum Laga Ke Haisha, 2015) singer adds, “I’m just giving the final touches to the album before jetting off for my international (US) tour. I will release them as soon as I am back.”
Lamenting the “shortage of good ghazal writing today”, which had been mastered by poets such as Nida Fazli, Qateel Shifai and Bashir Badr, the 49-year-old shares, “Ghazal writing is an art, and just knowing Hindi and Urdu isn’t enough. While some still write ghazal, the numbers are few.”
However, he is hoping to revive the music form. “Film music overshadows the genre, but with the internet, non-film music can thrive again. The void left by Jagjit Singh and Pankaj Udhas is vast, but there’s potential for ghazal to flourish even now,” says the singer.
{{/usCountry}}However, he is hoping to revive the music form. “Film music overshadows the genre, but with the internet, non-film music can thrive again. The void left by Jagjit Singh and Pankaj Udhas is vast, but there’s potential for ghazal to flourish even now,” says the singer.
{{/usCountry}}Papon adds, “I now curate ghazal-only shows in large auditoriums and most of them are sold out. At Jashn-e-Rekhta, I performed for 13,000 people. My concert series, Shaam-e-Mehfil, has garnered tremendous interest. We’re taking it slow—so far, I’ve mostly performed covers. Once my original ghazals are released, we’ll have a robust playlist.”
What’s next? “My upcoming film song is in Metro… In Dino, where I’ll also appear as a band member and narrator. I also have a bank of singles—some collaborations—which I’ll release monthly during and after my US trip.”