Dhaval Roy (DNA; August 13, 2019)

The Doorbeen couldn’t believe that none other than Alia Bhatt would feature in their music video, Prada Song, even till the time they started filming in Mumbai. “We were over the moon when we found out that she had come on-board. And when we met her on set, we were happier!” says Baba (real name Gautam Sharma), one half of the project that drove into people’s hearts with their chartbuster, Lamberghini. “She made us feel so comfortable and she’s so sweet and humble! She didn’t make us feel like newcomers or that she’s such a big star. She cracked jokes and chatted with us so much that we were completely at ease and the shoot was done smoothly,” he adds. Baba reminisces the time when the Raazi actress said that Lamberghini was her favourite and she would play it on loop shortly after it became so popular. In fact, the star danced to it at her best friend Devika Advani’s wedding. “We had no idea our song would become so popular!” the artiste enthuses.

BIDING THEIR TIME
Baba and his partner in rhyme Onkar Singh are dropping Prada on Jackky Bhagnani’s new record label. They tell us that it took them a while to finalise the company they wanted their next track to release with. “We really liked Jackky sir’s vision not just for his label but also for music in general,” Baba states.

Since Lamberghini was a smasher, they didn’t want to put out something just for the sake of it. They took their time in deciding what track to come out with next, though they have a treasure trove of singles. “We worked and reworked Prada many times, even rejecting the changes repeatedly. The sound is really futuristic and it will be a fresh theme especially for Bollywood,” Baba informs us.

UNDER PRESSURE? NO!
The duo from Delhi is not pressured about keeping up with the furore that Lamberghini has created. “Kandhon pe bojh aata hai toh karne mein aur mazaa aata hai kaam. Overcoming challenges drives us. We are very confident that everyone will love this track,” Baba divulges.

BEFORE LAMBERGHINI FRENZY
Though the musicians have been creating stuff for almost five years, it was Lamberghini that made them super popular. “Our tracks did moderately well only in the Punjab region; bohot zyada nahi chale hain,” Baba says honestly.

Even after Lamberghini’s release, they thought it was just a good song that people were liking. “When it entered Bollywood, we realised how big it had become!” the artiste says excitedly. “We have still not been able to process the fame that we’ve got,” Baba laughs, and continues, “We’ve had to tell ourselves to not let it get to our heads. Humaare badon ne bhi samjhaya hai ki sirf kaam pe focus rakho. No matter how big we get, we will never take the concentration off our work. Our plan is only to deliver music and start with the next project.”

BOLLYWOOD PROJECTS
Their hit track has opened the floodgates of work and fetched them five-odd film Bollywood projects this year and some more for the next, some of these are films under big banners. For them, the product will be top priority.  “We don’t want to take up collaborations set up by managers. We will sign things with good stories or something we can relate to,” says Baba.

After Alia, their wish list for B-Towners to feature in videos is rather long, he admits with a laughter. Though everyone is their favourite, the artiste says that interacting with actors has been revelation of sorts. “We were not exposed to the celebrity culture in Delhi. And we used to think stars are so out of reach and they must have such different lifestyles. But as we are meeting more people, they seem so much like us. They are extremely warm and welcoming. It makes us feel so good,” Baba concludes.

Gagandeep Dhillon (BOMBAY TIMES; October 23, 2015)

Singer Labh Janjua, 55, known for hit songs like “London Thumakda“ from Queen and “Jee Karda“ from Singh is King, was found dead at his flat in Goregaon, during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. He is suspected to have died of a heart attack, although the exact cause of his death is yet to be ascertained, the police informed.

Janjua, who shuttled between his home in Punjab and Mumbai for work, had arrived in the city two days ago and was found dead when his maid showed up in the morning.

As news of his demise spread, the music and film industry rushed to offer condolences on social media. However, it was a different sight at the hospital where he was brought, as only a handful of his friends turned up, while his wife arrived from Punjab in the evening.

“He lived alone in a flat in Dheeraj Residency, Goregaon (West), and spent a few days every month here for recording his songs. On Wednesday, he complained of stomach ache and acidity, and his friend Rishi Raj took him to a private hospital following which he was fine,“ said Gautam Sharma, one of Janjua's friends. On Wednesday evening, Raj dropped Janjua home and later received a call from him at 9.20 pm, saying he was fine. He also spoke to his wife over the phone at night. In the morning, when his maid went to his place, he did not open the door. “Since it was Dussehra, he had asked me to come as per my convenience. I went there at 9 am and rang the bell multiple times, but there was no response. Worried, I informed the neighbours and the police,“ the maid said. The police opened the door using a duplicate key obtained from the landlord and found Janjua lying motionless on his bed. He was rushed to the nearby Siddharth Municipal Hospital, where doctors declared him dead-on-arrival.

A police officer from Bangur Nagar police station told Mirror that they have almost ruled out any foul play into the incident. “He had a history of medical conditions. There were no external injuries. His body was handed over to his wife following an autopsy,“ said the officer.

Janjua is survived by his wife, father and an eight-year-old son. His last rites will be conducted in Khanna town in Punjab's Ludhiana district on Friday. “It was unfortunate that initially, no one came forward to help his wife. When I went to his house in the morning, the police asked me to call his family and friends to complete legal formalities. While people instantly started tweeting about the tragedy, nobody answered my calls and nobody from the industry turned up. Even by 4 pm, only two of us were present at the hospital while a few of Janjua Sir's friends joined later,“ said Sandeep Singh, a neighbour of the deceased.

Janjua's long-time friend and music producer Rishi Raj said, “When I met him yesterday, he was in pain but after spending a few hours at the hospital, he seemed to be fine. He said that every person has to leave this world whenever the Almighty desires so. Those were his last words to me.“

Labh was scheduled to perform at a concert in Varanasi next week.