Jasleen Royal has sufficient successful tracks behind her to keep fans intrigued about each new offering. However, her latest number, Heeriye, has become the talk of the town for more reasons than one. In this interview, Royal discusses creating the number that marks South star Dulquer Salmaan’s music-video debut, and why her songs are making fewer appearances in Bollywood films.

I have had this song with me for a while, but it was incomplete. I was attached to this one and did not want to give it to any [filmmaker]. I wanted to do it myself and have full control over what I could do. I reached out to Dulquer, and he told me that he [was my fan]. He said when his daughter was an infant, she would only sleep while listening to my song, Din shagna da. 

 

I sent this song to him, and he said he loved it. While he was busy, I said I could wait for him. [Because he was coming on board], we obviously wanted to make this big. You’ll see that enough thought has gone into creating each frame. 

A lot of people asked him why he decided to do this indie music video. And he’d say, ‘Art is art.’ He doesn’t segregate art on the basis of the platform. That is what I love about him, because a lot of actors are caught up in the game of positioning. 

 

Because I was also donning the producer’s hat, I wanted everything to go well, and to make him feel welcomed. I didn’t want him to feel like this was a small project for him. My focus was on making him feel at ease, but he was cool. 

 

I don’t think about doing a romantic song or a sad song, in that specific way. When I made Ranjha, [I did so because] something was happening in my life. A close friend was going through a bad phase. She was living with me and I translated her pain into my song because it was getting overwhelming to see her.  

 

So, I just think about what comes naturally to me. I don’t think about writing a chart-buster, or using tricks because something is [trending]. I made this song, and felt Arijit [Singh] would be the perfect choice for it. I was grateful that he agreed to sing it. So, the effort has always been to create something unique and something that I believe in. 

 

Honestly, I’m sick of remixes. I don’t want to give the rights to my songs to any label anymore. I dread the day I hear my song being remixed without my creative inputs. I am frustrated with this trend. And because I don’t want to whine or complain about it, I am choosing to steer away from that direction and do something on my own. 

 

When Ranjha came out, it brought me financial stability. I could take this risk, because I can’t sit and fear that someday someone will take my song, tweak one or two lines, or add one new word, and call it their composition. I think that is ridiculous.

Nikita Deb (HINDUSTAN TIMES; September 14, 2020)

Singer-composer Jasleen Royal has established herself as a successful musician in the industry in just more than five years. With no connections in the industry, she still managed to compose hits such as Din Shagna Da (Phillauri; 2017) and Jahan Tu Chala (Gully Boy; 2019) for Bollywood, and that, too, at a time, when female composers are anyway scanty in the industry.

But she says that her gender has got nothing to with her becoming a composer. “I was always clear about wanting to compose songs. And my gender played no role in it. It wasn’t like I got opportunities faster because I was a woman, or later for that matter. But I would love to see more women writing and composing music, and even heading music companies,” she says.

Royal, 29, adds that while she never explicitly experienced the downs of nepotism or favouritism, these factors exist in the industry. “There is nepotism and there is favouritism. It’s not like these things don’t exist. I have witnessed it at award shows, when even if you are nominated or win an award, people who have connections but have not done as much work are still given more importance because they come from an influential family or because they have a name attached to them. So, jagah banane mein thoda time lagta hai industry mein... but at the end of the day, your work speaks for you,” says the composer, who recently released a new track titled Sang Rahiyo.

The Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (Baar Baar Dekho; 2016) singer and composer recently also recovered from Coronavirus. While she says that there is fear of the virus, things are slowly getting back to normal. “My sense of taste hasn’t fully recovered yet. I can’t taste everything, so I get very excited when suddenly I can taste something,” she signs off with a laugh.

Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 6, 2020)

Singer-music composer Jasleen Royal is back with a bang, after defeating Coronavirus with her mother, who, too, had tested positive. It was on July 17 when she first realised she was unwell.

“I had low-grade fever and was travelling to Mumbai for a shoot. I thought it was best to rule out any possibilities of infecting others in case I had Covid-19. I did panic a little when it (test result) came positive, but it lasted only a day,” Royal tells us.

The 29-year-old remained in Ludhiana, Punjab, her hometown, till she recovered. “I informed the authorities that I’ve tested positive. They put a notice on my door and checked on my symptoms every day,” says the singer, known for songs such as Nachne De Ne Saare (Baar Baar Dekho; 2016) and Din Shagna Da (Phillauri; 2017). Besides the initial panic at contracting the virus, the singer says she feared infecting others. “I was isolated in a room in my house, and told to do Betadine gargles and take steam twice a day. I popped in ashwagandha and kadha. My dad was there to help us. For safety, everyone got tested and thankfully, came negative. My mother and I are also Covid-negative now,” says a relieved Royal.

As for the stigma Covid-19 positive people face, she says, “I feel people who have symptoms are shying away from getting tested. People should take wearing masks seriously, and maintain social distancing.”

Juhi Chakraborty (HINDUSTAN TIMES; June 30, 2020)

Singer Sonu Nigam’s video calling out favouritism in the music industry has kickstarted a debate, with many weighing in. Talking about how the industry responds to singers, especially newcomers, singer Jasleen Royal admits that instances of favouritism do exist. “If labels have signed up artistes, they will favour them. After all, the labels are getting business because of them. Favoritism toh hota hai; it’s a setback but you’ve to do your work,” she says.

Known both for her Bollywood compositions and independent music, Royal, 28, prefers to maintain a positive outlook. “For how long can talent be suppressed?” the Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (Baar Baar Dekho; 2016) singer asks, and adds, “If you believe in your song, put it online; it’ll reach people. It takes time... Kuch logo ke sath galat hua hai. I acknowledge that.”

She also feels that being an independent artiste is the best. “There are only four or five people who get work because they’re backed by a label. Now, thanks to social media, you can make a song and release it. That’s how I started,” she shares.

Meanwhile, she recently dropped a new song — a rendition of singer Lata Mangeshkar’s classic Lag Jaa Gale — wherein she has collaborated with actor Radhika Madan, who is making her first professional appearance in a musical showcase playing the keyboard. “Radhika is a friend… I’m a fan of her work. She’s very inclined towards music and poetry. That’s how I got to know how she has a good musical ear... Actually, she tells me to act and I tell her to sing,” shares Royal.

Angrezi Medium actor Radhika Madan discusses recreating Lata Mangeshkar's hit number Lag Jaa Gale
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; June 25, 2020)

Lockdown collaborations have become the latest virtual trend. Joining the bandwagon is composer-singer-lyricist Jasleen Royal, who kicks off her maiden music video featuring Radhika Madan. The actor will also be seen playing a keyboard for the recreation of veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar's hit song, Lag Jaa Gale, originally written by Madan Mohan Kohli and Raja Mehdi Ali Khan for the 1964 film, Woh Kaun Thi.

"We opted for Lag jaa gale because it is a deep-dyed classic that continues to delight listeners of all ages," says Royal, adding that she started curating the introduction [of the song] after discussing the project with Madan. "Radhika enjoys playing the keyboard and had sent me a few of her jamming videos. I dusted off my accordion for the reinterpretation of the track. With assistance from our househelp, we wrapped up the shoot within a fortnight."

Madan, who has started honing her music skills during the Coronavirus lockdown, ticked one item off her bucket list. "Learning an instrument has always been on my bucket list. I have been practicing the piano to perfect that craft. Lag Jaa Gale is a song that I can resonate with considering everything seems so uncertain. You don't know what is in store for you tomorrow," says Madan enthused about her collaborating with Royal. "Jasleen has guided me through the entire piece — the keys, chords and the overall conceptualisation."

Titas Chowdhury (HINDUSTAN TIMES; March 23, 2020)

On March 9, Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor landed at the Mumbai airport from London, UK. After spending a couple of days in the city, she flew to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on March 11 to help her family move into a new house. According to her father, Rajeev Kapoor, she took a trip to Kanpur on March 13 and then came back to the Capital to attend two parties.

But the date that upset the applecart was March 20 when she was tested positive for Covid-19 (Coronavirus). Ever since, the Baby Doll singer has received massive backlash on social media where many have labelled her actions as “criminal negligence”. On March 21, an FIR was lodged against her at Sarojini Nagar Police Station, Lucknow. “An FIR might be an overreaction albeit understandable because the price for her negligence will be paid for by several innocents,” says singer Sona Mohapatra.

Ashoke Pandit, director IFTDA, says that he has spoken to Ashok Dubey, president of FWICE, and they’re going to take an action against the singer. “Our office is shut, but the members have had an internal discussion and we are planning to take a strict action against Kanika. Her behaviour isn’t acceptable,” he says.

Pandit adds that the FIR filed is justified. “In a hypothetical situation, if any person present at the party gets infected and passes away, she should be held responsible for murder.”

Musician Jasleen Royal believes that the problem lies with organising a party at a time like this. “All of us need to stay indoors and not meet people. I believe that it was wrong to be organising a party in the first place,” she says.

Divya Kumar who collaborated with Kapoor for a song in Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (2015) asserts that attending a social gathering amounts to “criminal offence”. Reverberating Royal, Kumar says, “She went to a party that was also attended by politicians who have constantly been telling us to not go to any social gathering. All of them should be accused of criminal negligence and not just Kanika ji. The ones to be blamed the most are those people who’ve organised the gathering.”

For Mohapatra, the larger problem lies with how the cream of the upper class societies functions. “The real problem lies with our toxic celebrity and VIP culture which mollycoddles famous, rich and powerful people into thinking that they can operate by different rules. Senior politicians and leaders, who ought to have been ‘walking the talk’ of social distancing, attended these parties.”

Veteran music composer and vocalist, Bappi Lahiri, who has worked with Kapoor, opines that attending a party with the symptoms of Covid-19 makes for “irresponsible behaviour”. He says, “It’s an unfortunate incident. She should have taken precautions, but the same time, it’s a medical emergency and I hope she recovers soon.”

Nikhita Gandhi, singer, in a similar vein, says, “People are shaming her on social media. If it’s really that way, then it’s careless and irresponsible of her to socialise.”

Mohapatra adds that celebrities not obliging with airport officials for a medical check-up is also an issue that needs to be addressed. “The privileged and entitled elite of this country misbehave with officials in the airports if inconvenienced for a check. They complain about quarantine facilities as if they deserve to be kept in a five-star hotel,” she shares.

When contacted, music director Tanishk Bagchi says, “I don’t want to comment on it. I want these things to get over as we need to work. We have to be safe and at home.”

(With inputs from Sonil Dedhia)

Jackky Bhagnani on launching his record label
Dhaval Roy (DNA; August 6, 2019)

Jackky Bhagnani’s bio on an online encyclopedia describes him as a music curator, apart from an actor and a producer. Not surprising then, he has launched his own record label, Jjust Music, to promote budding artistes. Jackky says, “I’m a dancer in my head. Even when I was a fat kid, I used to love dancing. I’ve always liked being part of music, as a producer or actor —whether Chaar Baj Gaye (F.A.L.T.U, 2011), Suno na Sangemarmar  from Youngistaan (2014) or Kamariya (Mitron, 2018).” The company has signed The Doorbeen, Prakriti and Sukriti Kakar, Jasleen Royal and Darshan Raval among others. Here, Jackky talks about his plans, acting and production.

What made you launch the record label?
It’s a healthy environment for music. Dad (producer Vashu Bhagnani) used to be one of the largest manufacturers of audio cassettes, so, I know that if we distribute CDs and tapes, it’s difficult to start a label. But now, you can reach out to a larger set of audience through digital streaming.

What are your plans for the venture?
The idea is to make the music scene healthy, build a community and sign up people on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis. I want to live up to the name of the label—there are two Js in it. One stands for ‘just’ music where we don’t speak of anything else, and the other is about ‘just’ or fair music for artistes. I want to do everything under the sun. Music will stay in the front and everything else will come later. We will try to make money but not at the cost of compromising with the art.

Artistes prefer going independent because labels don’t give them creative freedom...
See, I’m an actor first and then a businessperson. So, I understand that if I don’t give creative freedom to artistes, they will never be able to express themselves completely. I happen to be the owner, but that has nothing to do with my opinion. I will come in as an audience and tell the musicians whether I like the song or not and then it’s their call. If there is a difference of opinion, then one has to convince the other. If I say it will be only my way since I’m the founder, then there’s a clear problem. It also changes the idea of fair music.

What made you sign up The Doorbeen as the first artistes?
There’s an interesting story behind this. A couple of friends introduced me to Lamberghini before its release when I was producing Taapsee Pannu’s Dil Junglee. I thought it was a brilliant song and should be used in the movie, but it didn’t work out. However, I still had my heart set on them. Even after the song, they remained unexplored as artistes. So, I reached out to them. They liked our philosophy and came on-board.

Ranveer Singh is promoting rap and Varun Dhawan, hip hop dance. Why the interest in underground art?
All of us love music. We want to do non-Bollywood stuff at the level of Bollywood. In India, when we say ‘independent’, people think, yeh chhota hai. So, from the audio to the video, I want people to see that it’s a big song, no matter where it is from.

Since you’re an actor, would you be featuring in the videos as well?
Of course! I love dancing. I can dance on bhajans also. So, I will 100 per cent do something.

Would you get your friends from Bollywood to be in the videos as well?
I will approach them. I know how actors think — if the song is good and if it’s going to be shot well, they would be happy to be a part of it.

What’s happening on acting front?
Once you are on the set as an actor, you are detached for three or six months. And at this point, I am focussing on the label and production. Once that’s on autopilot, I’ve already identified what I want to do next.

As a producer, you have announced projects with Nitin Kakkar (Filmistaan), Rahi Anil Barve (Tumbbad) and Vijay Lalwani (Karthik Calling Karthik). Are you looking at content-driven movies?
We have always been known to be mass-entertainers and we will continue to be that. Coolie No 1 is already on its way. But because times are changing, and I come in as a younger producer, I thought that we should also do content-rich cinema. We will do all kinds of genres except for adult films — Dad has asked me to not to do those.

Are you ready for comparisons with the original Coolie No 1?
Like the original, the adaptation is also being directed by David Dhawan and it stars my favourite actor at this point, Varun. I think it’ll be outstanding. Right now, I really can’t say much about the film. We have an announcement coming soon, and it’s going to be exciting.

First meeting of Mansi Jain’s all-women group on the lines of Hollywood’s Film Fatales saw 40 talented artistes and technicians in attendance
Ekta Mohita (MID-DAY; February 20, 2019)

A collective launched by short filmmaker Mansi Jain (below) is bringing together a group of women artistes and technicians from the industry to source untapped talent, and to ‘give access to each other’s connections, help and experience’. The inspiration for the collective, says Jain, is the all-women group Film Fatales in Hollywood that includes film technicians who ‘meet regularly to mentor each other, share resources, collaborate on projects and build a supportive community in which to make their films’.

“Film Fatales has indie filmmakers to big filmmakers [as members],” says Mansi, who has a masters in screenwriting and directing from Columbia School of the Arts in New York. “They help each other. That’s what I wanted here. I started at an intimate level by sending a voice note to 15 people in my phone book [on February 7]: Women I respect as filmmakers and technicians. I asked them if they would like to be a part of it. All of them were like, ‘let’s do it’. I formed the group, and Jyoti [Kapur Das, creative head, Gangs of Wasseypur and Queen], who is a powerhouse, added a lot more people. Within the first four hours, we had 92 members.”

Being mutual assets
The collective, unnamed so far, includes producers Guneet Monga and Elahe Hiptoola, filmmakers Leena Yadav, Nupur Asthana and Ashima Chibber, cinematographer Neha Parti Matiyani, editors Geeta Singh and Antara Lahiri, singer Jasleen Royal and actors Sandhya Mridul, Divya Dutta, Sayani Gupta, Rasika Dugal and Seema Pahwa. The first meet-up on February 9 was held at Monga’s office, with about 40 women in attendance.

Jain says, “Why were we able to have a huge first meet within the first three days? There’s a hunger in women. There’s so much untapped talent when it comes to female filmmakers and technicians. Bringing them all under one roof and giving them access to each other’s connections, help and experience is the purpose of it. We spoke to each other about the projects we were working on, and saw how we could be an asset to each other.”

Pahwa, who’s been an actor in the industry for 35 years and is making her directorial debut with Pind Daan, says, “I have not seen that much of a distinction [between male technicians and female technicians], but definitely, women have had to struggle more to establish themselves: in all the fields and not just ours. We have not made this group to stage a revolution. A lot of our members are already established and have a body of work behind them. The collective is to create awareness that there are so many [women technicians]. On my next project, I definitely know that there are many names I could approach directly.”

Taking it forward
The collective will meet once a month, at somebody’s house or a cafe. At Monga’s office, while there was an “amazing spread,” there was also a potluck. “Everybody was requested to bring something so that the host didn’t get overwhelmed with the responsibility,” says Jain.

“But, we don’t want it to become like a kitty party. That’s not the point of this. This is a very professional group. We work together and are interested in each other’s careers and talents. The idea is to take each other by the hand and go a little forward.”