In
an era where that one break in the film industry is the most
aspirational thing on earth, popular singer Jasbir Jassi, who shot to
fame with his numbers like ‘Dil Le Gayi Kudi Gujarat Ni’ and ‘Ek Kudi
Kudi’, has refused to sing for one of Salman’s most talked about film
‘Kick’. So, why exactly did he do it? Jasbir, in an exclusive rendezvous
with Daily Bhaskar, explains. Excerpts from the freewheeling chat:
Why did you reject Salman’s film?
I was being asked to sign an illegal contract regarding my song for Kick. I refused to sign on the dotted line.
Didn't you think, for once, that you have rejected a film that stars Salman Khan. And that might land you in trouble?
Main aisi baatein kabhi sochta hi nahin hoon. Main hamesha achcha
kaam karne ki sochta hoon. Mujhe nahin lagta ki koi apki life bana ya
bigaad sakta hai. I think karne waala bhagwaan hi hota hai.
What do you mean by an illegal contract?
The format of contract (with the singers) followed years ago was that
the music label / production house solely owns all the public
performance rights to the song a singer will sing for them. They will
own its royalty too. Which means if I sing a song for them – I will have
no rights to that song. I cannot perform that specific song on any
public platform (No matter how big a hit that song becomes). Also, I
will get paid no royalties to the track. Imagine my state – I will not
be able to perform a song that I have sung originally for the movie to
any stage shows or concerts. Concerts are the bread and butter of a pop
singer, and will always be. One concert can fetch us a huge sum. Hence, I
refused. I, along with the whole music fraternity, had faced a similar
trouble earlier. I didn’t want to face it all over again!
What was the trouble?
Years ago, T-Series would approach pop singers to cut an album. We were
too naïve at that time, and looking at an offer of a crore for an album,
an average singer would quickly agree to work for them (even I did.
Who’d say no to that amount years ago?). But once your songs shoot you
to overnight fame, and you are approached for stage shows, et al, you
would come to know that the music banner has the complete rights to the
songs and the album. And their rules stated – a singer has no right to
his song, he cannot perform his songs on any public platform, he gets
paid no royalties to his own songs. I was a victim to this. Imagine my
state – I could not perform my songs for any stage shows. Concerts were
the bread and butter of a singer at that time, and still are. One
concert would fetch us around Rs. 20
lakhs, but we were robbed of that. We weren’t even paid any royalty
either. We were mere slaves to the music banner. And this went on for
years. In the end, a few of them, gave up to this crisis situation and –
willingly or unwillingly – switched to Bollywood, putting an end to
their individuality and their own independent albums. Another reason for
becoming playback singers was that many of their solo albums never saw
the light of the day. Every artist craves visibility, and those who
couldn’t afford to fight for their rights, eventually gave in to the
demand of the hour – singing for Bollywood, and become the voice of film
stars.
Meanwhile, singers like Honey Singh will continue to make it big by becoming the “voice of film stars”?
When people like Honey Singh agree to such “market demand” of abusive
stuff, it only backfires. Bollywood lovers, Mumbaikars and Delhiites
might fall in love with his rhythm, but back in Punjab, when I have to
do stage shows, I’m being told strictly to avoid Punjabi songs
consisting of abuses et al. They talk about all those singers who’ve
literally sold their creativity to the film industry and how the
Punjabis hate to see their songs being mixed and mashed and messed up –
basically deviated from their original versions. Owing to such
bitterness that I had to face (when my songs were later remixed, jazzed
and spiced up sans my consent), I had begun to play safe. I would ask
the respective music directors to mail me the lyrics of the song they
want me to sing. I would go through it first, approve of each and every
word in the song, and only then would I agree to lend my voice to it. I
have no grudges against Honey Singh or any other Punjabi singer. My only
issue is that the industry should not attempt to replicate one person's
style. We’re not machines. Each singer has his own USP. Just because
one Punjabi rapper agreed to abuse in his songs, doesn't mean every
singer like me should be forced to follow his style.
But you had sung ‘Laung Da Lashkara’ from the film Patiala House, right?
The last Bollywood song I sung was Laung Da Lashkara.
But after that, I requested to Akshay (Kumar) that I don’t want to
continue singing for films. They sign you for a Punjabi folk number, and
after that, the song belongs to the music directors. They
can do anything with it! Change it, rap it, add their own terms (that
have no relation to Punjabi folk) and I feel helpless. Andar ka artist
jo hota hai, woh toh aise marr hi jaata hai na. Itni galtiyaan hoti
hain unn Hindi movies ke Punjabi gaanon mein ki main embarrass ho
jaata hoon,” rues Jasbir. It is due to these reasons that I refused
to sing for many Bollywood films – including Salman Khan’s Kick. And even Bobby Bedi’s film Mango.
So, you’ve made up your mind to stay away from the film industry?
If I sing for Bollywood, I will lose connect with my own culture.
Bollywood has begun to monopolise Punjabi songs. But in this process of
Bollywoodisation of Punjabi numbers, the Punjabi flavor of a song is
conveniently slashed off and the whole concept of ‘what sells’ barges
in. So, the moment I’m signed to croon a (pure) Punjabi song for a
Bollywood film, they recycle the song in such a way that I’m
disheartened, shattered and totally put off by their norms. They ask me
to insert abuses, slangs and all sorts of nonsensical terms into the
track. And the result is not a pure Punjabi number but a cocktail of
masaledaar rap combined with English beats with Punjabi music as a base.
All this is done in the name of ‘aaj kal yahi bikta hai, isliye aapko yahi karna padhega.’
And when I disagree, I find out that I’ve already signed on the dotted
line of the contract! I’m a puritan when it comes to my own culture, I
don’t want to adulterate it just to add to my bank balance. I just can’t
agree to their instructions, “Aapko abuse karna hi padhega, logon ko yahi achcha lagta hai.”
No Bollywood, and no T-Series. So what will you do now?
Now, I will neither be dependent on such music banners nor the film
industry to take my songs to the audience. I’ve decided to do it all by
myself, for myself and release my own album (just like my albums used to
be year ago). And by that I mean – for my own birthplace. My funda,
now, is very simple. Fortunately or unfortunately, main kuch achcha aur International karna chahta hoon. Bollywood is not my goal. Main rigid tha is baat pe ki main Bollywood nahin karna chahta. See, meri Bollywood se koi dushmani nahin hai, yeh industry humare desh ka hissa hai.
Today, the Hindi film industry is the biggest platform for all singers.
And I know whoever is associated with it, gets the fame they yearn
for. Kiska mann nahin karta popular hone ka? Par main fir bhi Bollywood nahin karna chahta.
I don’t want to lose my individuality, my identity – especially as that
of a Punjabi singer. I don’t want to get lost in the world of films and
uproot myself from my Pind. I am determined to stand up for my cause. I
have cut my own album ‘Dhol’. And I will continue to do such work in the future.
New Delhi: Two people were arrested on Monday by the National
Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with blasts at Narendra Modi's
rally in Patna. The duo were arrested from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.