Abhimanyu Mishra (BOMBAY TIMES; January 14, 2020)

His hit singles like Dhoom Pichuk Dhoom, Maeri and Aana Meri Gali are still fresh in the minds of music lovers. And even though his first song released 22 years back, Palash Sen’s energy, enthusiasm and his love for performing live only seem to be getting stronger. The frontman of Euphoria credits his success to his honesty towards music, the love his fans have showered on him and the fact that he has never gone solo in his career spanning over two decades. Palash, who was in Ahmedabad recently for a performance, spoke about the non-film music scene and how the audience has changed over the years. Excerpts:

You’ve been performing for a long time now. How has the audience changed over the years?
A lot has changed. There are so many diversions now. If you can’t capture the audience’s attention in the first 45 seconds, they will move on. That’s why remixes and recreated versions of old songs are ruling the charts.

These songs are only about that one catch line from an old hit song, which comes right in the beginning of the song. But, you will be surprised to know that the audience’s behaviour towards live performances has not changed. They still enjoy good live performances. This shows that good music is still appreciated.

You have said on several occasions that Bollywood has negatively impacted non-film music, and the quality of Bollywood music has been consistently going down. Do you still feel the same?
The problem started in the mid-2000s, when music companies started creating music for promotions. Before that, music was being created for its musicality. But now, music is only about business. How many singers from today’s generation can ensure captivating live concerts? Very few. Mainly because today’s songs are such that their sounds can’t be recreated on stage. Also, India has never had a music industry, we always had Bollywood and music was just a part of it. So, music in India gets treated the way Bollywood treats it. And right now, it’s just commercial.

You also said that music has become more visual now. But, hasn’t that always been the case? All your songs had videos starring Bollywood’s leading ladies.
See, the audio-visual medium has always been the strongest way to reach out to the audience. But now, it’s about numbers. My song got 500 million views, so it’s a hit. But the views, likes and dislikes, hits on a song etc. can be bought. Toh sahi mein kaunsa song hit ho raha hai, nobody knows. I have been creating songs for the last few years and none of them have managed such numbers. Actually, all the mediums of reaching out to the audience are controlled by companies, and unless you pay or do something controversial, you can’t achieve these numbers. If you say something controversial, it reaches huge numbers without any push. Then nobody questions it.

These days, a lot of celebs are speaking out on political issues. Do you also feel the need to do the same?
I speak my mind, but I never take sides. I would say it if I feel something is wrong. But these days, the entire system is pushing you to take sides and I am in the middle. I wrote a song in 2017 that said — Na main left ka, na main right ka, main beech mein latka. It has never been my position to pass judgement on anything, as there are always three sides to a story.