Politics refuge of retired artistes: Sukhwinder

‘Chhaiyya Chhaiyya’ and ‘Jai Ho!’ fame Bollywood playback singer Sukhwinder Singh says politics is for actors and singers who are retired, “and I will never retire”.

‘Chhaiyya Chhaiyya’ and ‘Jai Ho!’ fame Bollywood playback singer Sukhwinder Singh says politics is for actors and singers who are retired, “and I will never retire”.

Sukhwinder Singh (HT Photo)

Giving his views on the singers and actors who are entering politics, the star who was here to perform at the annual Rose Festival said: “Hardly any happening actor or singer would enter politics, which is a refuge of the retired. The love of music will never allow me to go anywhere else.” To make it big in the world of music requires passion, Sukhwinder has said, adding: “Jo khud diwana nahin vo doosron ko diwana kar bhi nahin sakta (one who doesn’t have passion cannot charm the others).”

Performing in the city after eight years, he was in a hurry to get to the Sukhna Lake. “My visit to Chandigarh will be incomplete without it,” he said. His performance will be a blend of rock and unplugged. The man who has sung both Bollywood and Punjabi songs and given his voice to hit movie ‘Jatt and Juliet’ has noticed Punjabi cinema to have become “very popular”. “The movie might be historical, musical, or comedy, Punjabis can put comedy and emotions into any content,” he said. He will be heard next in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Rangoon and Prakash Jha’s Jai Gangaajal. The winner of national award for the song “Bismil” from Haider says the young playback singers have a lot of versatility but passion and practice were the keys to success. “Having been a sportsman, I know the value of hard practice. You don’t become a singer by just picking up a microphone. A lot of perseverance and training goes into it,” said Sukhwinder, explaining how he had been working towards his aim since childhood. “I have been sent by God to entertain people and I am doing my job,” he said.

Sukhwinder has sung for many popular films such as Tere Naam, Kaante, Omkara, Fashion, Agneepath, Dabangg and Ek Tha Tiger. His song ‘Jai Ho!’ from Hollywood film Slumdog Millionaire was acclaimed internationally.