Mohit Chauhan has given several hits, but confesses that he is not a fan of remixes. In fact, what irks him the most is when people try to cash in on the popularity of an old hit. “It’s alright to genuinely revisit a song, but I don’t like remixes. Bahut sare gaane kharab bhi ho jaate hain... I don’t think there is any need to make a remix of a song. Bahut saare remix hain mere gaano ke jo itne achche nahin ho paaye. Masakali (Delhi-6; 2009) ka bhi achcha nahin tha toh A R Rahman sahab (composer) bhi bahut naraaz huye the,” says Chauhan, who was recently in Delhi to attend a storytelling festival.

Talking about Indian cinema and the north-south divide, the crooner believes that music has no part in it as it has no barriers. “Music, like it’s said, is a universal language. You can listen to a song in Spanish or any south Indian or north-eastern language, if the melody touches you then one can feel the emotions. People will make films in their language because they have an audience, but music has no language and it’s a powerful medium that can cross any barrier,” adds Chauhan, who is happy to be back on the stage to perform for live audiences.

“For any artiste, the studio is [just] one part (of the musical journey) where you manufacture your song. But when you go out and sing those songs, you expect people to sing with you; that can only happen on the stage. This was something that didn’t happen for over two years, and now that it has sort of opened up, it’s great to be back,” ends the former Silk Route vocalist.