His Voice Is Romance Personified…Singer Composer ANKIT TIWARI Talks To SHUBARNA MUKERJI SHU About His Songs, His Dreams… And Home!
Thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing….” The ABBA number completely resonates true for Ankit Tiwari, the singer has been giving us some rather hummable songs of late. The voice that has redefined romance with songs like ‘Sunnrahahai…’ from ‘Aashiqui 2’, and ‘Galiyaan….’ from ‘Ek Villain’ and more recently ‘PK’s’ ‘Dil Darbadar’…, has already hit the big league. While his songs are finding themselves cushioned amongst the biggies, films like ‘Action Jackson’ and ‘PK’ certainly tell the world he is up for grabs for films beyond Mohit Suri’s banner. Before he gets too busy, we caught up with the singer to ask him how fame is treating him now…
“Of course it is a wonderful feeling to have people sing your songs. I distinctly remember the first time that happened. We were at Hyper City shopping and you know how there is music playing in the background? Suddenly it started off with one of my songs! I was desperately looking around to see how people were liking it. I was thrilled to see them humming along. You know, as a singer, one records a song and then you just have to wait and wait and wait. It’s a long wait because songs are one of the first few things that people record but the filming and post happens months later. But then when you have people appreciate your work, it is totally worth the wait,” exclaimed Tiwari.
The boy from Kanpur, who has won over everyone with his soulful voice, has been around for six years and yet, his success is only recent. “When I told my parents I wanted to pursue singing they were more than happy. We come from a family of musicians and singers, my mother is well-known in Kanpur, we are very inclined toward the art of it, so there was no surprise that I would have liked to take it up professionally. However, they got really worried when I said I wanted to come to the big bad world of Bollywood.
“Coming to Mumbai to become a singer was really something they didn’t think the youngest member of their family would have managed to do, certainly not all by myself. ‘Kapde dhone padenge, istri karna padega… the food and all that, how will you manage?’ they would tell me! Subsequently my elder brother shifted to Mumbai with me. When I see how much my parents and my brother have done for me, I realise that whatever I have achieved thus far is thanks to what they have done for me. My talent holds only 50% of the contribution.” Clearly with the kind of success and acclaim coming his way, he surely has made his parents proud and all the effort has been worth it…
“It is only now that I have been able to start fulfilling some of the promises I had made to them. It is only now that I have started paying back. I still have a very long way to go and I will never perhaps manage to pay them back in full for all that they have done for me, but yes, I am trying. I like it when I go back home and people recognise me. I am glad that the whole town feels proud because I belong there. The other day, when I was home I had gone out to have pani puri and the word spread that I was there having gol gappa… suddenly there was a crowd and people wanted to come and say hello, click a picture all that with pani puri stuffed in my mouth!” While it might be really hilarious, the thought of a singer who should be doing riyaaz the second he wakes up, stuffing his face with panipuri, is unheard of!
Meanwhile, he has given us many songs we love to hear on a loop, so for that and more, thank you for the music Ankit Tiwari!
