The name Benny Dayal is often recalled when songs like Pappu Can’t Dance, Badtameez Dil, Tamil Fever, and Jai Jai Shiv Shankar are sung. Since the Tamil film Sakkarakatti in 2007, Dayal has come a long way conquering Bollywood and making forays into independent music. Recently, Benny released a new song titled Mehki.
In an exclusive interaction with The Free Press Journal, singer-songwriter talks about his new EP, song, and walks us through his illustrious career in the music industry while revealing a few secrets about himself. Excerpts from the interview:
Many artistes are releasing singles or EPs these days, how do you look at this new trend?
I’m coming out with new music after two years, so I’m really excited about this. As for singles and EPs, this should have been a culture right from the beginning. I think it’s wonderful that it’s happening. I only wish there’s more music that comes like this and we don’t call it independent music, we just call it music.
What’s are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on my new EP called Them, which stands for Tamil, Hindi, English, Malayalam... I’m trying to do a multilingual EP. I’m working on it with the wonderful producer and musician, and a brother, Harshit Mishra (stage name Hash Base). Then I’m doing an amazing EP with my band Funktuation featuring The Horn Flakes and this is gonna be our second studio album and I’m really looking forward to in 2023. Recently, I released the first track from the EP Mehki, which I hope you all enjoy.
How did the song Mehki come about and what is it about?
Mehki was a musical beat sent to me by Hash. We made the melody over a video call. We had this entire idea in place and I explained how it should be. Like we’re stuck in the car, it’s raining... it’s all about a kiss. You can always steal a kiss from the one you love the most. You don’t have to take permission for a kiss. That kiss is effortless. Whether you are in a car, at home, watching TV or at a friend’s wedding... it doesn’t matter. For me, it was a situation where we were stuck in the rain and seated in the car.
Tell us more about it.
We wanted to make it a reality that goes into a fantasy-like of a situation where there’s some imaginative artistry too. I had Lendrick Kumar, the director who has done a wonderful job on the song, and DOP by Prayoon Sajeevan, directed by Madhavan. It was a wonderful experience working with these people. Mehki is an experience; it’s like a warm hug. I hope you’ll enjoy it.
It’s been 15 years since you started your journey with AR Rahman. How have you evolved as a musician?
AR Rahman, Nucleya, and all the other amazing composers and independent collaborators that I worked with have taught me that there’s nothing greater than music, and that is the greatest experience. You stay humbled and let the music come to you, let the universe bring it to you... You get to discover new things, new energies, new music, and new journeys with the music.
RAVI HATHALIA
You started as a dancer and then came music, how did the transition happen?
I am still a dancer and I’m still dancing on stage as a performer. I am keeping both my music and singing alive. I don’t say that I’m a singer now and I used to be a dancer. Of course, everybody knows me as a singer, but dancing is the reason why I became a musician.
Any memories of your first recording?
My first recording was for Pravin Mani, the producer of my first album with my South Indian pop band, S5, way back in 2004. That’s the first time I got to experience and learnt so much about studio and studio recording and learning how to sing as a chorus singer, learning how to sing as a lead singer. It was a wonderful experience and I’ll never forget it.
You have done a lot of music for Bollywood, and have even acted in a Malayalam film ‘By The People’, for which you also composed music with your band. Any aspirations to act in a Bollywood film?
I don't see myself as an actor because I'm not that passionate about acting. But of course you know nowadays over the years I've learned that acting is such a wonderful craft. When I did it, in the film ‘By the People’ in 2004, I wasn't actually very passionate because I was just out of college and I was thinking of only becoming a musician when all of a sudden this acting job happened and I had to do it. But I think I can do better. I think I've grown as an artist, so I can probably apply all my life experiences into acting and probably give it a shot. Earlier I wasn't passionate about it, but now I can really think about giving it a shot.
Who are your inspirations?
A lot of a lot of artists actually... There’s Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, AR Rahman, Ilaiyaraaja. Pharrell, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Billie Eilish, Beyoncé... (pauses) it’s a never ending list.
You sing in 11 languages, which language are you most comfortable with?
If you treat language as a sound then it’s easy, like everything is a sound, sounds put together form languages. So, if you can break it down into simple sounds that’s how you can actually decode a language. After that, if you apply that thought, I think singing becomes easier. The hardest one, I would definitely say, is Malayalam and Bengali. They are two very difficult languages and I respect them both.
You experiment with different genres, which is your favourite?
All genres are amazing. I like to be a part of every genre. I really want to be a universal musician. So, if I’m given an opportunity all of a sudden to collaborate with someone amazing and of some other completely opposite genre than what everybody knows me for, I would definitely hop on to be a part of it. That’s exactly how I come up with a lot of my indie music and also all of my albums and singles. They are not fixed to a particular genre.
What do you like more: Singing in a studio or live performance?
Stage performing and recording in a studio both capture performances. You know that your performances are captured. So it’s like on a mic it’s in the studio while at a performance it’s witnessed by many on a live stage. So I love both. There is no separation.
Is there some pre-show routine that you follow?
No, there is no pre-routine, but I like to pray. I pray on my own and then I pray with my band too. So I keep that as my pre-show routine if you wanna call it that.
You are a foodie. You travel all over the world, what’s your favorite food you love to have?
I love food and I think I have no restrictions when it comes to food. I eat anything and everything. And of course, I’m open to experimenting with food and my most favorite food is of course Kerala and Malaysian food.
