Click it and Unblock the Notifications
Exclusive Interview: Rochak Kohli On His Journey From RJ To Music Composer And His New Song Tu Muskuraye
Rochak Kohli's recent song 'Tu Muskuraye - World Kindness Anthem' is dedicated to those who've helped selflessly during the COVID-19 pandemic. From delivering a hit song like 'Pani Da Rang' from Vicky Donor to 'Tu Muskuraye', the singer-composer has definitely come a long way. Talking exclusively to Filmibeat, Rochak Kohli shares his journey from being a radio jockey (RJ) to a music composer, his struggles in the music industry, and much more.
Talking about his idol AR Rahman, Rochak says, "I guess it's because of him I'm doing music today. I used to be in school when I first encountered the music of the film Roja. I spent a lot of days and nights understanding Rahman sir's music and the purity in his songs. I really wish to achieve that kind of purity and sense in my music as well someday." Excerpts from the interview:
Q. What is your new song 'Tu Muskuraye - World Kindness Anthem' all about?
A. It is a song called 'Tu Muskuraye' - this was just out a few days ago. It is a song on kindness and humanity, about love not for one but for all. It makes you think that even if throughout the day I do one act of kindness, I'm home. It also describes the joy of doing acts of kindness, so I featured some acts of kindness from across the world in this video. It was really heartwarming to see how selflessly people are doing work outside their own realm and helping people they don't even know. I've collaborated with Humble the Poet who is a Canadian artist; he is a rapper and Gurpreet has written this song. The main peg of this video is that all proceeds and revenue that we collect from YouTube and other sources goes to an NGO called Khalsa Aid. The NGO does COVID and other relief work, not only in India but across the world.
So, I had a certain amount of money that I wanted to donate to charity and I thought, why shouldn't I do it as an artist? Why shouldn't I make a song of this money and let this song reach out to as many people as I can and let them be a part of this charity. So every time any person views this song on YouTube, they are donating, as 5 paisa is generated from YouTube and that 5 paisa per view goes to Khalsa Aid. We are hoping to collect a good amount of money for the charity, for the fundraiser and that's why we are requesting people to view and share this song as much as they can. The charity is one part of it but the greater part is that it has to reach out to people and get that spark of kindness going after viewing this video.
Q. How was it collaborating with Humble the Poet for the song?
A. Humble the Poet is a rapper, he is an artist who stays in Canada. I was fond of his work earlier and approached him for this song. He heard the idea and was very excited. He not only did the verse in the song but was kind enough to shoot his portion of the video for us, which really added a lot of value to the video. More than that, I think he is very humanistic in his approach and all his posts on social media talk about humanity and kindness. It couldn't have been a better collaboration. I'm really really grateful and glad we could both pull this off together.
Also, Gurpreet is a big part of this song; he has written the Hindi lyrics. One can easily write a love song or a heartbreak song like what is going on these days, but to get into the thought and make a song that is not preachy but also to tell what you want to tell and speak out your heart is very difficult. So, kudos to Gurpreet, too.
Q. Did the pandemic change something in you or make you more kind? Your thoughts on or your meaning of 'Kindness'.
A. Yes, of course. The pandemic has changed a lot of things in a lot of us. It's really made me reflect on the meaning of my life. It made me feel very small in front of the universe. And the meaning of real kindness, it came to me through this pandemic.
Of course, I wanted to do something of value, creating through my art but due to the pandemic it happened very soon and the reason why I could pull off this project 'Tu Muskuraye' us because I was so moved by seeing people suffering - my dear ones, my friends and people who are not known to me. I donated plasma, went to the hospital and saw people just fainting there due to non-availability of beds, and there were a lot of other cases as well all through the news. We were daily seeing a lot of things.
One way is just to close your eyes and say that 'OK, this will pass', and the other way is to be there and do whatever you can. Pulling off this song was also something that was springboarded by this pandemic. 'Kindness' for me is making somebody smile, a person who you know or do not know. I think that makes my day.
Q. You made your musical debut in Bollywood with the popular song 'Pani Da Rang' from Vicky Donor in 2012. How have these nine years been in the music industry? How do you see your struggle?
A. I am really fortunate to have a song like 'Pani Da Rang' as my debut. It just set the premise right. My journey until now has been full of ups and downs, but music is something that I really want to do till the end of my life. That's for sure. This journey has really given me the confidence that I could pull this off for a long, long time. I struggle daily; struggle for different people is different. For me, the struggle in my musical career is choosing the right song and getting the correct lyrics on that and making a melody that I love personally.
My producers or somebody who has given me the job, them loving it, fulfilling that is also a struggle. Jab tak saamne wala khush nahi hota hai aache se...I can't really sleep properly and I keep looking for these challenges because whenever I think music is easy for me, it sets a tone of monotony. I do not like monotony, so that's also a challenge. I look for songs in which I have to challenge my limits and make something new and give something new to the world.
Q. You come from a family of lawyers. How did music happen to you?
A. I come from a family of lawyers and I am a lawyer myself. I had just started practicing in 2006, when a private FM radio station came to my city and did some auditions. I slyly gave an audition and I was selected, then I told my parents, 'Abhi court ki chhuttiyaan hain'. There were some holidays in the High Court and I told them I wanted to try this job as an intern, so they didn't mind it and I was selected as an RJ (radio jockey). I was doing the show, and also cleaning the floors, doing the sales pitches and representing my company. We were just a team of five people at that time and we had to set up an entire radio station.
The media really struck a good chord with me and the ultimate goal was to do music because I had done a lot of music and theatre in my college. I come from DAV College, Chandigarh. We would win in all these festivals at IIT Bombay and BITS Pilani, etc. in theatre and music. So that keeda was inside and I had thought that OK, even if I become a lawyer, probably after 20 years I would take a break or a sabbatical and I'll definitely try music. But it happened very soon and this radio job, I really started getting fond of it and they gave me a permanent job with a very handsome salary! I had to quit my law career for that and ventured full-time into radio.
Then from Chandigarh, I came to Delhi and from Delhi to Mumbai. And here 'Pani Da Rang' happened...my first song. At that time also I was working in Mumbai in the same radio station. After 'Pani Da Rang', I was working under a contract and couldn't do many songs. A lot of songs were offered to me after 'Pani Da Rang' but I couldn't do it. I had to quit the job in 2013 after which I started my own studio.
Also the reason was, I didn't know how to make music at that time. 'Pani Da Rang' happened because it was a song which we made in college and we just had to put some guitars and some basic beats into it and we didn't know the song would be such a big success. So, I took a break and learnt to produce music, basic stuff, and I learnt who does what in the industry. Slowly and steadily I guess I could figure out things all by myself.
Q. What's your stand on re-creating or remixing old melodies?
A. I stand very firmly on re-creating because, I am doing a lot of re-creations myself. For me, re-creating an old melody is a greater challenge than making an original song. It has the baggage of a being superhit already and I have to live up to that reputation. There is a loyal fan base for that particular song that I am catering to, so I have to be really careful. As far as crediting the original makers of the song, re-creations have been around the world for a long time. It's just come to India now, I think three or four years ago. So as long as the trend is going and as long as the audience is loving the re-created melodies, we are good to go. That doesn't mean we just do re-creations because it is giving more weight to original music.
For example, among 10 re-creations, an original melody comes, it really shines bright. So, it's a very hard competition or to say it's a very tough challenge for all of us to create better melodies, be it original melodies or re-creations. Also because of the Internet spread, anybody can create any melody sitting from any corner of the world, so you don't really need to be in Mumbai, you don't need to know some set of people to now create music or to create a hit song. So, I don't think re-creation is a problem as long as it's done properly.
Q. Who are your favourite composers and singers? Who do you idolise?
A. My all-time favourite composer and singer is AR Rahman sir. I guess it's because of him I'm doing music today. I used to be in school when I first encountered the music of the film Roja. I was listening to it for days together and my friends used to think that I freaked out and was tripping on one album. So, album after album, I spent a lot of days and nights understanding Rahman sir's music and the purity in his songs. I really wish to achieve that kind of purity and sense in my music as well someday. Rahman sir is an idol. And, of course, the veterans like SD Burman and RD Burman - I really loved to listen to their tracks. The beauty of their melodies is just impeccable.
A lot of other music composers that are contemporary, my contemporaries working today with me, and Amit Trivedi who is a senior, I really admire their work. All these singers who are also composers, like Darshan Rawal and Jubin Nautiyal, they are young, talented guys. And Lisa Mishra, Asees Kaur, Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, of course, are gems themselves. Arijit Singh is my all-time favourite because he also puts in a pure heart into his songs.
I am also very open to new artists - I do not hesitate in following somebody on Instagram who I think I am fond of. Chahe ke woh koi naya baacha ho yah purana insaan ho, I put all my ego aside and follow that person just for pure art, love for the art and the love of their talent. It's a good time for composers, singers and lyricists because there is a lot of work out there. There is a lot of audience for songs and that's why all types of songs are working. So yeah, cheers to that.
