Published On:Sunday, December 29, 2013
Posted by devil
I am my own favourite: Honey Singh
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Yo Yo Honey Singh, 30, was called Honey at home. He lived in England where despite the British blacks, the American ones were followed and aped who would say 'Yo' for 'Yours'. So Honey added 'Yo Yo' to his name that means 'Your Honey Singh' or 'I am yours' as he says lovingly. From being 93 kgs to wanting to just create music, he has not just made it, but has made it big. He never celebrates his achievement as he has a big vision for himself. Post the success of his recent song 'Sunny Sunny' from 'Yaariyan', we spoke to the extremely simple and sorted rockstar. Excerpts:
You have had instant success. Let's talk about your journey to fame?
My success has not come easily, it has taken me more than 10 years. I was born in Delhi, have stayed and roamed the world, but had a tough childhood and career path. Only my mom and mausie supported me in music. So, I would just sing shabad kirtan to remain somehow attached to music. We then moved to Coventry in England as my dad had his business there. But I left home to come to London to learn music and worked as an apprentice to survive and would assist blacks from Miami for just 100 pounds a week. I had no money, no work and survival was very tough. Jassi Sidhu tried to get me work, but no one gave me a chance.
I would land up fighting with everyone in England and get fired from everywhere. They told me people in Punjab were more loving and there were lesser ego problems there, so I came to Punjab. We had our old house in Chandigarh, in which I opened my office. I never wanted to become Honey Singh. I was just 5 feet 9 inches, but 93 kgs. I only wanted to become a music director and wanted to give India a rockstar. But I soon realised that the kind of music I wanted to make was different from both, the bhangra market in England and the rural market in Punjab, and, thus, no one accepted my music even here. With two lakhs, I started working as a music director for a Punjabi album.
My mother had moved back with me to Punjab. I then met Ashok Mastie in Delhi, who asked me to make a song for him and I made a mainstream hip-hop song Glassi for him, but he did not like it. He told me that it would work in England but not India. I told him unfortunately it does not even work in England, but I will make it work in India. I then went back to England and a few months later, I was told that Ashok was frantically searching for me as his producer's son had really liked the song. I had only sung for the scratch version but they liked that and so I became a part of the song and also the video, as they felt I had this England look that would connect with the youth. By that time, I had lost weight and become 76 kgs. The video became No. 1 on the BBC World charts. But the irony was that no one in England knew either Ashok Mastie or Honey Singh and so none of us gained from it.
I decided to work with new singers in Punjab. They would be so besura, without any brains, who would just sell their lands and come to me with money to become singers. I always wanted to be honest with my work and had decided that if any of them could speak, I would make them sing and if they could sing then would give them a hit. The new singers started becoming stars and I started making money and from 2 lakhs started making 25 lakhs per album. There was a singer called Raja Baath and I made him sing a song called Chaska that became a rage. He doesn't even know what scale he has sung it in, but I made him sing it. For five years consecutively, I got the best music director award in Punjab. The attitude of these new singers would change after just one hit. I always felt that Hindustan mein mere jaisa maker na paida hua hai, na hogaand I had said to myself that I would sit there in Chandigarh and the world would come there only to pick me up. Those guys there were not able to value me. After just one hit song, they would go out give flops and then come back to me. I wanted them to be consistent. They had no vision of going beyond Punjab. I also realised that my videos started doing well.
In 2011, I released my first album called 'International Villager'. I had no support and whatever money I had made, I put it all in the album. I shot the music video for 'Brown Rang' with one lakh dollars. I spent so much money as I just wanted to put it up on YouTube as I knew that my market was there, and it became a huge hit. That album also had a song called 'Angrezi Beat' that became a hit. Just as I had imagined, I got a call from Bollywood as they wanted to use it for 'Cocktail'. That was the first film that came to me. People are wrong when they say that there is struggle in Bollywood. That is only when you don't have the talent. If you have talent, Bollywood comes to you.
Last year this time, you were falsely accused of having sung Main Hoon Balatkari. How did that happen?
After 'Cocktail', I started getting calls for shows from across India. I have a 300 million database of my YouTube videos and recently represented India at the YouTube awards. Gangnam Style was world No. 1 but in India, the No. 1 song was my song 'Brown Rang'. I am a very realistic man and always keep doing a reality check and don't believe what is told to me, till I see it for myself so I went on a show spree to connect with my audience and see my popularity with my own eyes. I sing +1 on a CD. I don't go for a show to prove in two hours that I am a singer. I know people come to talk to me and meet me. I have put in 10 years of work and six months behind a song to put it out. I come on stage to meet my audiences. I don't lip sync. I sing on top of +1 which is very difficult as you cannot falter even at one place, as it will show up. And my audiences realised that I was just like them. I would tour in just one baniyan, there were no crackers when I came on stage. I became so involved with my audience that I forgot two things.
One, that I was not the son of a big father, so people could write what they wanted and two, I did not care for the media. When my videos started getting five million hits in a day, there were 5,000 Yo Yo Honey Singhs on YouTube. People started singing in their bathrooms and making videos and getting hits by just tagging them as Yo Yo Honey Singh. One such fake Honey Singh had put up a video called Main Hoon Balatkari. Last December, I had two shows in Delhi on 25th and 31st. The Nirbhaya case had just happened and the whole atmosphere in Delhi was sad. As an artiste, I wanted to cancel both my shows. The 25th show was being done by friends of mine and got cancelled easily. All other shows in Delhi on 31st were cancelled, but the people who had organised my show on 31st were powerful and managed to not cancel their show and insisted that I either pay for all the tickets, as the show was sold out, or perform. I was getting ready to perform when I switched on the TV to see the news that had, by then, been thrown out of proportion. One of the other event agencies, out of jealousy, had leaked the fake news to stop our show. The damage was done. A case was filed against me and I didn't know what to do.
How did you deal with this emotionally?
I love my mother the most in the world. She has seen a lot of poverty and loneliness and is very simple. Whenever I am in trouble, I go far away from her as she is not at all strong. If I see her breaking, I break. I saw her breaking down that night and did not go home for seven days after that news and stayed at a friend's farmhouse. I don't show her my emotions. I have done everything in my life alone. My mother was crying all the time and would tell me, 'Why don't you go and tell the media who you are? They have made you Kim Kardarshian of India.' I told my mom that with time, people would know the truth. But I got very hurt. It took me eight months to fight the case till it was finally dismissed. But during that time, I felt very insulted and went away to England in February all alone and stayed with my mausie and her daughter. They are two hardworking ladies, who have won despite the worst circumstances in their life. I knew I needed them and so did they. I love cooking and cooked for them for the time I stayed with them. I told my mausie about what had happened and relaxed myself. At that time, I decided that I would do what nobody's father would have done in Indian music and decided to fight my case.
During those months, I was extremely depressed, but I made 130 songs. Even if I release one song out of that every year, there will be no legend bigger than me. Those songs are ready with me and every song is bigger than Lungi Dance.
How did Lungi Dance happen?
I got a call from a builder friend, who knew the Moranis, saying Shah Rukh was looking for me. I obviously did not believe them, till I actually met Shah Rukh at his house. In 10 minutes, he understood me and asked me to make a song for Chennai Express. He made me hear six songs and I told him, 'Yeh toh bakwas hain.' I told him I will give you a song which will be the biggest song of the year. Everyone sitting there regretted introducing me to him. But the beauty was that Shah Rukh understood that yeh toh mere hi jaisa hai and he said, 'Chal main tujhe story sunata hoon.' Everyone was shocked as to why he was entertaining me so much. I made him talk to my mom as she is a big fan of his and he spoke to her for 20 minutes. My mom went mad and I decided whatever it takes I will work for him. Only Shah Rukh bhai understood the song, nobody else did. He sent the song to his son Aryan, who loved it.
What are you like?
Main zabardast aadmi hoon. I am my own favourite. I know that I am so good at heart that God gives me the opportunity himself. He knows that I am trying to build my house sitting on the seaside. So every time a wave comes and breaks it, he keeps giving me cement so that I can make a pukka house. I am blessed and no one can stop me. I don't show my emotions, but take it out through my shayari. I fall in love easily. I have got only 5 % of success yet, as per my talent. I promise you that people will make my tattoos some day. After Michael Jackson, I will give India a rockstar.
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