Nikita Deb (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 23, 2020)

When he released a single called Ye Baarish, in 2017, it felt like a breath of fresh air, as Darshan Raval started his path to stardom in the Indian music industry. Of course, he had made his debut long back in 2015 with a song in Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. But after he made a place for himself in the independent music industry, especially with a rain song every year, his popularity grew by leaps and bounds. He then went on to sing superhit Bollywood numbers such as Chogada (Loveyatri; 2018), Kamariya (Mitron; 2018), Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga; 2019) and Odhani (Made In China; 2019), among others.

Now, as Darshan releases another “heartbreaking single” for his fans and listeners, he feels that we need more original music in Bollywood. “We need a lot more of good sad songs and love songs in the form of original music in Bollywood,” he says, adding, that he has no idea why such few romantic numbers are created nowadays. “I think producers and composers will be able to find an answer to this question. I only make original songs and mostly sing original songs whether it’s in the independent genre or in the form of Bollywood music. In Bollywood, I can only try to sing originals, but when I make my independent music, I ensure I make originals,” says the singer.

Darshan’s latest hit from Love Aaj Kal — Mehrama — starring Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan has garnered over 150 million views on YouTube. The singer says that it was a “great experience” to sing for Pritam [Chakraborty; composer] da in an Imtiaz Ali film starring Kartik. “I want to thank my fans and all the credit goes to them for listening to the song and loving it so much,” says Darshan, adding, “When I got the offer to sing this song, it was a very hectic period for me. I was performing every day, and I was doing concerts back to back. So, when I went to record this song, I was extremely tired and my voice was tired too, but I think that pain and exhaustion in the voice was needed in this song. So, it worked out well.”

Darshan’s latest single Asal Mein is again a sad romantic number. But the singer says that he can sing songs in any genre as long as he “personally likes the song”. “I am comfortable doing the songs that I like. If I like a song when I hear its melody, I will sing it. If I don’t love a song, I cannot sing it. When I like a song, I do justice to it and people love it too,” says the Tera Zikr singer.

As for the trend of remakes ruling over the music industry currently, Darshan says that he is “nobody to comment on it”. “I personally love independent songs. But the rest is up to the audience. People make songs that the audience likes,” says the singer who reprised the song Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To (1942: A Love story; 1994) for the Sonam K Ahuja-starrer film of the same name in 2019.

Darshan also enjoys a huge fan following online and he says he is blessed to have the people that he does in his life. “It’s a great feeling when I get up in the morning to realise that there are millions of people who listen to my songs and wait for them. I am honoured, blessed and very happy that I have such amazing people in my life,” he says. The singer also says that given a choice to choose between Bollywood music and independent music, he would “most definitely choose indie music”. “I love Bollywood music and movies because I grew up watching them. But I think independent music is very close to my heart. However, at the end of the day, it is all music. We are the ones who differentiate or divide them in categories. After all, I love music so the thing is when I make indie music, I am the creator and I get the opportunity to compose as well, and make the song from scratch. In Bollywood, it is based on a situation and I have to sing according to that,” signs off Darshan.