Singer/Songwriter Anuv Jain: I Like To Keep My Art As Authentic As Possible

Blessed with an unmissable charm of a classic boy-next-door, singer/songwriter Anuv Jain has cemented his position as one of the country's most sought after voices, amongst the up and coming crop of musical talents. Some are appreciative of his talent, others are sceptical. But, when the ticketing platforms scream 'sold out' at every city he performs in, there cannot be a bigger testament to the fanfare he draws.

The Free Press Journal got in touch with the Ludhiana/Mumbai-based artiste for a brief chat where he spoke about his latest song 'Antariksh', his definition of musical success and wanting to do more music videos.

Excerpts:

You've just performed at Dhaka, Bangladesh to a packed venue. One believes that the tickets of the show were sold out within three hours following the announcement. Is this where the fanfare goes global?

My performance in Dhaka was my first ever international show and the response we received was absolutely insane. I never imagined the crowd to be so loud when I got on stage at the event with more than 3500 odd people attending the show. It felt magical to see everyone sing all my songs word to word with me in a different country. I was pleasantly surprised to see all the love that I received from Bangladesh and I definitely wish to be back here for another show soon.

How do you describe the experience of watching crowds throng at your shows?

The feeling I have after my performance at almost every show is something that I cannot describe in words. Seeing the crowd sing along to my songs and shower all their love to this boy with just a guitar on stage is something very, very special. This is what keeps me going as an artist and pushes me to keep doing even better with every next release.

What did you want to convey through your latest single 'Antariksh'?

‘Antariksh’ is a song about unexpressed love. The song follows the story of a person, unable to express his deepest feelings to the one he loves. He finds himself practising in front of the mirror, but words fail to reach the intended. I wanted to convey this particular feeling in the song that a lot of us go through in real life with the intention to portray the confusion and infuriation that comes with it in the music video along with several instances of the use of wordplay in the song to showcase his love that is infinite and boundless, just like the ‘Antariksh’ (space).

It's the first time you also appear in a music video. How daunting or rewarding was the experience?

‘Antariksh’ is my tenth single and hence, I knew I wanted to go all in with this release. Being someone who has always been shy in front of the camera, I wanted to push my limits and bring myself to feature in one of my music videos. This song felt like the perfect opportunity to do something different and challenge myself in the true sense as an artist. I am glad I did this. It was an amazing experience.

With the loyal fan love that you receive, does it add more responsibility towards your art?

Writing songs inspired from my personal life and singing is something that I love and am passionate towards. I don’t consider it as a responsibility, but a medium to express myself better to my listeners. With increasing following, it does influence the way I present my art to some extent in the form of my music videos, song artwork, show visuals, etc. However, I like to keep my art as authentic as possible and have been following the same process of making my music as I did for my first song.

At the suggestion posed by your music teacher, you took to singing in Hindi. Would we also get to hear you sing in your mother tongue Punjabi?

I actually do have a Punjabi song called ‘Maula’ which I released in 2020. However, I cannot promise releasing more songs in Punjabi yet. Currently, I have gotten more comfortable writing in Hindi, but if Punjabi comes naturally to me while writing a song then I shall definitely think of putting that out.