We have exclusively got to know that singer Jubin Nautiyal recently tied the knot with his childhood sweetheart in an intimate ceremony in his hometown in Uttrakhand.

According to a source, the wedding was attended only by close family. “Jubin opted for a simple, traditional ceremony instead of a large public celebration. He has always been very private when it comes to his personal life. They did not want a large-scale wedding and were happy to celebrate their big day with just their dear ones.”

Known for songs like Manike, Raatan Lambiyan, Akh Lad Jaave and Kaabil Hoon, Jubin had earlier shared a glimpse of his partner on Instagram Stories on Valentine’s Day.

We reached out to the singer, but he chose not to comment. 

What appeared to have been a punctuation in his smooth sailing Bollywood music career eventually turned out to be a boon. The lockdown offering him a chance to step back from films and dabble in independent music instead, Jubin Nautiyal claims his audience “increased 10-fold”.

Asserting that the Internet’s reach is unparalleled, the singer, who recently released tracks like Lut gaye and Tujhe bhoolna toh chaaha, says, “Currently, 60 per cent of our population has access to the internet. Imagine what will happen when this number increases to 100. Our diverse population has different tastes, which means there’s an audience for every song.”

Emraan Hashmi-starrer Lut gaye, Nautiyal was told, was among T-series’ fastest growing numbers. Evidently then, a second collaboration would be on the cards. “Given the attention that the first one received, the next one has to be better. I am yet to sing the song because we are still working on arriving at the right one. The process involves the creation of a couple of songs, and then eliminating the ones that don’t work. Working in isolation [was an advantage]. An artiste knows that independent music must be a reflection of his or her journey. My audience will look out for my perception in my music, and not that of a hero. Hence, I can only make a mark if I reflect my reality. Among the things that I learnt while dabbling in independent music is that I want to try different genres. I thought I wouldn’t sing qawwalis or retro songs. But, in the last year, I sang different tracks, and that helped me get acquainted with my voice,” says the singer, who has only recently commenced performing live again.

Performing as many as 29 gigs in February 2020 alone, before the lockdown was imposed, Nautiyal says being restricted for nine months had him question his preparedness. “Since we were not performing for so long, we wondered if we were in good form. I have done two public shows [post the lifting of the lockdown]. One was for a crowd of 9,000 people. Another was a few days ago, for a college festival for 5,000 kids. Going before a crowd is fearsome, but we are taking all efforts to successfully hold concerts. We are playing to groups of 7,000 people in [stadiums] that can host 25,000. We ensure that nobody comes on stage, and limit unnecessary travels, heading straight to the concert, and back home.”

In the pipeline for him are films like Satyamev Jayate 2, starring John Abraham, and Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam. An album that was in the works has currently been deferred. “I don’t think this is the right time to release [an album]. Putting six songs together doesn’t make it an album. An album must have [character], and the songs must work together as a story, it must have musical synchronicity.”

After unit hands tested positive during Udaipur shoot, studio adopts additional preventive measures for the filming of a music video in Delhi
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; September 15, 2020)

Where movie shoots are beginning, one schedule at a time, producer Bhushan Kumar has managed to film two music videos amid the current restrictions. A week after the shoot of Jubin Nautiyal's yet-untitled single in Udaipur that saw five crew members testing  Coronavirus positive, the makers were more vigilant as they filmed Taaron Ke Sheher over three days in Delhi. The single features actor Sunny Kaushal and singer Neha Kakkar.

A team of 35 headed to Delhi on September 5. Upon their arrival in the capital, the cast and crew were tested for the virus and found to be negative. "T-Series wanted director Arvindr Khera to helm the single as he has shot some music videos in the past two months without hiccups, and hence, is more familiar with the process of filming in the post-pandemic world. As a precautionary measure, the director divided the three-day stint between leads Sunny and Neha, and the background dancers, thus minimising contact. Only the leads and a handful of unit members reported to work on the first day, and filmed their portions over an eight-hour shift. The next two days were dedicated to the background dancers," reveals a source.

After the director called it a wrap on the project, the entire team underwent a COVID-19 test again before they could board the flight to Mumbai.

Kaushal, who was growing restless during the stay-at-home period, says, "This is the first thing I shot for after the lockdown; it was fun to be back on set." Kakkar, who has rendered the track with Nautiyal, believes the romantic number will tug at listeners' heartstrings. "I was excited to feature in the video with Sunny," she chimes in.

The singer says that everyone faces difficulties and rejections, but he didn’t let these things get to him
Nikita Deb (HINDUSTAN TIMES; September 8, 2020)

After having made a mark in the Hindi film industry, singer Jubin Nautiyal recently made his Hollywood debut as a singer and composer with a track for an English movie. The singer says that it was quite an exciting experience for him because this was the first time his fans were going to hear him sing an English song. But when it comes to the differences between the music industry in India and in the West, Nautiyal says that he felt there is much more freedom to experiment in Hollywood.

“I had a lot of freedom while working in Hollywood or composing songs there. I have not composed for Bollywood so I won’t compare. But there was a lot of freedom to express what I feel, what I want to do with my sounds when I worked for Hollywood. They are very open to new ideas and creativity. Bollywood mein risk nai lete log, paisa nahi daalte, but they were even okay with me shooting the video knowing that I had no experience in detection whatsoever prior to this,” he says.

The Humnava Mere singer was a rank newcomer when he sang his debut song for a Bollywood film in 2014. But he believes that nepotism is not something that can block someone from achieving the success he or she deserves.

“If you ask me that was my journey difficult? I would say that I did not care. I had my targets clear about what I had to do. Of course, I faced rejections and difficult times. There were many times when I ended up questioning my talent. I would wonder if I was good enough and if I was in the right line of work. But when you surpass that and don’t let such things get to you, that’s when an artiste is built. All the great artistes in the world are people who have come from nothing. These were people from small towns who had difficult journeys and their difficult journeys become their music and their art,” he concludes.

After cinematographer displays symptoms during Jubin Nautiyal's music video shoot in Udaipur, three more test positive for virus; unit home-quarantined upon return to Mumbai
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; September 7, 2020)

On September 1, singer Jubin Nautiyal, actors Asim Riaz and Sakshi Malik, and a team of 10 technicians returned to Mumbai after a music video shoot. The yet-untitled single, sung by Nautiyal, was filmed over a week in Udaipur with a unit comprising the 13-member crew from Mumbai and 15 local technicians.

While the proceedings kicked off smoothly in the last week of August, director of photography (DoP) Sameer Arya complained of dry cough and fever on the fourth day of the shoot. The cinematographer immediately alerted the unit that he had developed Coronavirus symptoms, and resorted to self-quarantine at the hotel.

A source from the local unit says, "It was a lean team of less than 30 people. We underwent a COVID test before we started shooting. Sameer displayed symptoms in the last leg of the shoot. So, the assistant cinematographer took over his duties for the remaining three days. Meanwhile, Sameer consulted a doctor to keep the fever in check and stayed in isolation. As soon as the shoot was wrapped up, the Mumbai team left for the city on Monday night."

Since travelling by air would risk other passengers to exposure, T-Series, the production house backing the single, promptly arranged for the team to travel by road. On reaching Mumbai, three more unit hands tested positive in the next few days. "Director Ashish Panda, production head Ravi Chaturvedi and the director's first assistant Tushar Thalipayal showed mild symptoms. They are all quarantining at home now," says the source. It is heard that two members of the local crew complained of fever and cough, but were found to be negative. "As a precautionary measure, the production house has asked the entire unit to home-quarantine for 14 days," adds the source. Nautiyal, Riaz and Malik, who feature in the song, have tested negative.

mid-day reached out to the studio, which declined to comment.

BOMBAY TIMES (June 25, 2020)

Sushant Singh Rajput’s untimely death by suicide has shaken up Bollywood and resulted in a lot of issues and grudges – that were simmering for a while – surfacing in the public domain. Over the last week, the biggest topic of debate in the entertainment industry has been the alleged powerplay in the Bollywood music space and how it is supposedly controlled by a few music labels. It all started when Sonu Nigam, in a vlog, said, “I want to request everyone and especially our music companies to be kind because today an actor – Sushant Sigh Rajput – has passed away, tomorrow you can hear the same about a singer or a composer or a lyrics writer because unfortunately there is an even bigger mafia in the music industry than in the film industry.”

He further added that young and struggling musicians are distressed because “the composer would want to work with them, the producer and director would want to work with them but the music company would say ‘no, this is not our artist’. This is not right that the power is in the hands of two music companies only.” He also made the charge that “Even directors and producers are not happy because they are not being allowed to make the music that they wish to.”

The video sparked a debate with charges and counter-charges flying. Later, in a second video, after a few names from the industry spoke to the media and contradicted these charges, Sonu named T-Series’ Bhushan Kumar and alleged that Bhushan was trying to forcefully counter his views by getting other singers to speak against him. Soon after, Bhushan’s director-actor wife Divya Khosla Kumar called Sonu “thankless” in a post and accused him of selling “lies and deceits.” T-Series is by far the biggest player in the Hindi film music industry, with an estimated 50% market share. —TNN
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‘THIS INJUSTICE HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A WHILE. MUSICIANS GET DUMPED FROM FILMS IF THEY ARE NOT PART OF A LABEL’S ROSTER’

Several veterans of the music industry came out in Sonu’s support after he posted the videos. While Alka Yagnik just said “Yes, it’s true I am with Sonu on this... and most of us senior singers are too,” and chose not to elaborate further on this, others shared their experience of having dealt with this “injustice.”

BHUSHAN KUMAR COMPLETELY SCRAPPED THE MUSIC WE HAD COMPOSED FOR A FILM: SALIM MERCHANT

Salim Merchant, one half of the composer duo Salim-Sulaiman, says, “Usually, big labels do not interfere with the music or the composers; once in a while, they may tell us to include a song from their bank in a film. But T-Series says, ‘Salim-Sulaiman ko hi nikal do. We will get our own composers and singers’. Unless the film’s producer is an A-lister or somebody in the same league, Bhushan Kumar makes all the decisions. There are many who have gone through this. Sonu Nigam is absolutely right, this has been going on for a while now – this injustice against creative people, including singers, who get dumped because they are not part of the roster of his label.”

CREATIVITY CONTROLLED BY THOSE WHO HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT CREATIVITY: ADNAN SAMI

Sharing his thoughts online, Adnan Sami wrote, “The Indian film and music industry needs a shake up. Especially in the context of music, new singers, veteran singers, music composers and music producers – who are being exploited to the hilt. Why is creativity being controlled by those who have no clue about creativity and are trying to play God? Is all that we have to offer is remakes and remixes? Stop this and allow the truly talented new and veteran artistes to breathe.”

TODAY, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CAN’T SING AT ALL, BUT THEY ARE THE ONES IN THE LIMELIGHT: MADHUSHREE

Madhushree, who has often given her voice to A R Rahman’s projects and songs like Kabhi Neem Neem, Tu Bin Bataaye and In Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein,says, “Nepotism and music mafia have always been there. But earlier, there were really good singers, too. Today, there are people who can’t sing at all, but they are the ones in the limelight.” The singer says that she has had to face a lot of discrimination in the Bollywood music industry throughout her career and “all kind of tricks were used to ensure that my voice does not reach the public.” “But I am very grateful to A R Rahman ji who gave me so many superhit songs,” she shares.

A FIRST-TIME DIRECTOR IS ARM-TWISTED WHEN IT COMES TO CREATIVE DECISIONS ABOUT THE MUSIC OF HIS FILM: CLINTON CEREJO

Clinton Cerejo, who has composed for films like Kahaani and Badla, apart from other non-film work, says, “If I’ve spent two years working with the director and creating songs and a score that are cohesive, and two weeks before the release the label suddenly decides that they are going to use one of their own artiste’s songs as a ‘promotional song’ and that artist becomes the face of the film in the eyes of the public, it’s not fair to me. This happened to me on multiple occasions and it used to bother me. I decided to just move on and focus on my own journey as an artiste.”

Cerejo adds, “If a director is senior, he cannot be arm-twisted beyond a point, but a first-time director will often be completely disregarded when it comes to making creative decisions about the music of his own film. That’s one of the reasons why there’s very few current songs in Bollywood that will stand the test of time.”
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‘THE MUSIC INDUSTRY DOES NOT FUNCTION THE WAY BOLLYWOOD FUNCTIONS. IT’S A DIFFERENT ANIMAL, NO OUTSIDER BIAS’

Some, like singers Shilpa Rao, Jubin Nautiyal, Amaal Mallik, composer Rochak Kohli, lyricist Manoj Muntashir and singer-composer Sachet Tandon didn’t agree with Sonu’s claims of the music industry being biased and favouring insiders.

THERE IS NO OUTSIDER BIAS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. WHAT YOU GET IS TOTALLY BECAUSE OF YOUR WORK: SHILPA RAO

Shilpa Rao, the voice behind Bulleya and Ghungroo, among others, says, “The music industry does not function the way Bollywood functions. It is a different animal. I feel there is no outsider bias in the music industry. What you get is totally because of your work. I have been here since 2007 and in this industry, it is about how you sound and what you bring to a song. There are people giving songs to absolute newcomers too. Experimenting with newer voices is not a problem here.”

TODAY, ONLY GOOD CONTENT MATTERS: JUBIN NAUTIYAL

Singer Jubin Nautiyal said to a channel, “Today, it’s more content-driven. Even a small song from anywhere can turn out to be a huge hit. Nepotism can be one of the factors that affected the industry in the past, but today, what matters is good content, talented artists and good sound. That’s what every music label or producer is looking for.”

IT WASN’T EASY FOR ME OR MY BROTHER ARMAAN BECAUSE OF OUR SURNAME: AMAAL MALLIK

Talking about nepotism, Amaal Mallik, who comes from a family of musicians, had said, “A lot of people have the notion that it must have been easier for me because I had the Mallik tag. But I don’t feel it’s right. I agree I have an advantage. I know how things work. I have seen the failures of my family members so I know and that’s the only difference. I have been doing this since the age of 19 but I got my first film at 24.” Speaking about his first film, he added, “I miserably failed in that film and that song didn’t work despite being on such a huge scale. For one year, I had no work. I don’t think anyone repeated me, just like it’s with other newcomers. It’s not happened overnight for me and my brother. Maybe, it’s even a bit tougher for people who have a name.”

THE MUSIC INDUSTRY HAS A VERY PROGRESSIVE PROCESS: ROCHAK KOHLI

Music director Rochak Kohli added, “When I approach a singer for a song, I always tell them that I want to try you for this song. And we will try our best to keep your voice in the song because things change. It's not just for new singers. I also tell the same to people like Arijit (Singh), or Jubin (Nautiyal) and Sachet (Tandon). Everyone understands. Singers come up to me and tell me they want to sing maximum scratches. The singer also gets his taiyaari and his voice also reaches out to a lot of people. It’s indeed a very progressive process.”

Nikita Deb (HINDUSTAN TIMES; June 5, 2020)

“Jubin is a very talented singer. He had earlier sung a song in my movie Hate Story 4 (2018). I knew him from before and I had always been a fan of his music. When I heard this track, and found out that it was going to be sung by Jubin, I immediately knew that I wanted to be part of it,” says actor Ihana Dhillon, who features in a new track by Jubin Nautiyal, titled Meri Aashiqui.

The song, which has been composed by Rochak Kohli, is a sad, romantic number, and has garnered over 13 million views on YouTube within three days of its release. “It’s a soulful track, and people are loving it. We have put in a lot of effort into the song and it was totally worth it. Working on this song was one hell of a ride. We shot the song in the north eastern state of Meghalaya, and sometimes, it was incredibly difficult to reach the location. We often trekked for hours to reach the location,” she says.

This is the first music video that Dhillon has featured in, but she says that if a song is beautiful and she likes it, she wouldn’t mind doing more such videos. The actor also says that she had three to four film releases scheduled for this year, but due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, everything has been postponed for now. I also have a web series that is coming out soon,” says Dhillon, who will next be seen alongside Ajay Devgn in Bhuj: The Pride Of India.

The actor insists that she is very “choosy” about her work, and is very conscious about always doing different kind of roles. “For me, content matters more. The digital platform has become huge and therefore, it doesn’t matter to me if I am working in a movie or a web series. Acting is my passion and I love acting, but besides, I also have other business ventures, so I am not greedy for work. I take my time and choose my projects very carefully. But yes, I am never going to leave acting,” she signs off.

As told to Riya Sharma (BOMBAY TIMES; May 13, 2020)

There are many things I’ve added to my lockdown routine, but one thing I’m religiously trying to follow is staying away from my phone. I’m spending time with my family, and connecting more to my roots, now that I’m home in Dehradun.

When we were kids, my mom always taught us the importance of keeping our rooms clean. She said, ‘if you all keep your rooms clean, we’ll have a clean house.’ I moved out of the house around 10 years ago, and I never thought I’ll be reminded of so many things I did as a child. Like cleaning my room, doing jhadu-pocha, sometimes even cooking something for myself, like noodles and eggs.

During this time, I am helping people as much as I can. I sent cookies to the police officers who’ve been working tirelessly near our home. Then there is a group of people who send food to a locality behind my house, for the underprivileged residents there. So, I make contributions towards the purchase of food. Also, when I felt that I wasn’t doing enough, I used music as my shield and went to my rooftop and did a live social media concert for my fans, to cheer them up. Even if I can make them smile for 15-20 minutes, I’ll think as an artist, my purpose is fulfilled.

The Coronavirus outbreak is an extremely disturbing thing, but what has shocked me more is the news, like people spitting on and hitting doctors, misbehaving and running away from hospitals, not realising the gravity of the situation. One piece of advice I’d like to give to people is that even if we have masks and sanitisers, the only way to defeat this virus is through social distancing. Please ensure you keep yourselves clean, follow the hygiene routine and stay at home. Let’s forget the division of race, caste, gender, colour, region and language, and unite to fight the virus, which is the evil living amongst us. We must defeat it.

Wajid with Muskaan and her father, Sajid

Dabangg composers Sajid-Wajid on superstar Salman Khan's role in reinventing soundtrack for the third part of the sequel, and how Sajid's daughter Muskaan's association with the film was a stroke of luck
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; December 2, 2019)

One may attribute it to the fact that he is veteran writer Salim Khan's son, but when caught in his element, Salman Khan's wordplay can be quite delightful to witness. We've seen it during his stint as the host of reality show Bigg Boss, and even in interviews. But Dabangg 3 music directors Sajid-Wajid promise that it is, in fact, while ideating for his comic-action franchise that Khan is quite the fireball.

"Salman bhai likes to throw bouncers and check our reaction to them. In fact, we don't even take his jokes lightly," laughs Sajid, before pointing out that Munna badnam hua, the track that's currently the talk of the town, was in fact Khan's brainchild. "For the world, he may be a hero; but for me, he is a musical guy. His inputs on this soundtrack were extremely meaningful. Often, he'd use a phrase or word, and ask me if it could be added to a certain portion of the song. He is a thinking actor, and a lot of his ideas were put into play when creating the soundtrack for Dabangg."

Placed in a position to create the soundtrack for the third edition of a franchise that has so far received acclaim for both its storyline and music, the duo agrees that keeping the songs as fresh as possible was their primary concern. "Since this edition is a prequel, we enjoyed several liberties. If you notice, in Dabangg 2, the melody was mature to reflect the character's married life. Here, there is a freedom that the character enjoys, and [we could depict that] through the romantic tracks," says Sajid, as Wajid points to a tool they employed to further keep the music attuned with their needs. "We used live instruments too to make the songs come alive. On international turf, scores are [recorded] live. It's sad that in our country, the trend is dying. Unlike the way it was 25 years ago, one needs to actually scout for people who can do this today."

Even though the duo "missed" working with the singers they usually collaborate with — including Sonu Nigam, Sukhwinder Singh and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan — employing a fresh set of singers, they believe, has done them much good. "We used combinations that haven't been explored so far, like pairing Shreya Ghoshal with Jubin Nautiyal. We also [employed] Badshah, and Salman Ali." Wajid adds that frequent collaborator Singh was kept away from the title track, because he's offered that way too often. "He's so brilliant that I think he should be employed for [more complicated] songs. He too says he's tired of singing title tracks." But, for the duo, the high point of roping in singers for this film lies in the selection of Muskaan.

Sajid's daughter's appointment as the voice of Saiee Manjrekar, says the father, was a stroke of luck. "Salman bhai had requested several friends' daughters, who were pursuing music, to test for this part. At that time, I didn't want to use my daughter, since he was already looking for people. However, once, during a visit to his home, [my associate] happened to play a cover song that had been recorded by Muskaan. Salman bhai, who was in the washroom, came out and enquired about it. He asked for the song to be played again, and on learning that it was Muskaan singing, told me, 'Tell her, welcome to the Dabangg family'."