Ajay Bijli is known as the founder of PVR and the Managing Director of PVR INOX. But he also has a musical side to him. He has been the voice behind tracks like ‘Beparwah’ and ‘Wahe Guru’ in the past; the latter eventually became a part of the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Dunki (2023). He has now come up with his own EP titled ‘On Another Note’. The three songs from the same – ‘Rab Rakhda’, ‘Shukriya’ and ‘Dil Kare Haye Haye’ – released today.
Sharing his reaction on the release, Ajay Bijli told Bollywood Hungama exclusively, “It is very exciting. I have done a couple of songs before this. One was, of course, a rendition of ‘Wahe Guru’. The music was done by Sheykhar Ravjiani. That was exciting. Then it got picked up in a movie called Dunki in 2023. That gave me confidence that I can sing. I have always been very fond of singing since childhood. But I have always done covers.”
He added, “When I was 16, I cut an album of English songs. I used to travel to England a lot. And I had made a small group called Photonics. I and my sister used to write poetry. I made 5-6 English songs. But after that I started doing covers only. I had a band in college called Modus Operandi. Of course, then I started PVR, so there was no singing (laughs) for a long time.”
He reconnected with singing during COVID and found a band called Random Order, which still exists. “Again, we were doing covers,” he said. “But somewhere I was surrounded by singers, musicians and my own band members; they all said that I should do originals now. I thought I should do an English original as all my covers were in English. I also had a teacher who was American. But I also had a Hindi teacher. I thought if I am in India and I love independent music, then I should do original Indian music.”
Bijli has been fond of the music created by Sheykhar Ravjiani and Amit Trivedi. He made the film Aisha (2010), in which he liked Amit’s music. “I told him I wish to do something original,” he said. “So, he came out with this song ‘Beparwah’. When the song came out, he said that it has come out very well and he liked the way I sang it. He said that he is coming up with an album Azaad Collab where he is collaborating with established singers like Javed Ali and Armaan Malik. He said, ‘I don’t mind if you also get included in that if you are okay’. I said I don’t mind. I said I am a businessman who is very fond of singing, so he if he likes my song, I am very happy to do that. That album and song did very well.”
When it came to ‘On Another Note’, Bijli thought about the first song ‘Dil Kare Haye Haye’ when he was in Delhi for a wedding of his friend’s son. “My friend asked me to sing some Hindi songs. At that time, I thought there is another Punjabi song on wedding that can be made. It completely exemplifies how an Indian wedding happens. So, I spoke to Shellee (Shailender Singh), the writer of Udta Punjab. He is a brilliant writer. I spoke to him and Amit and said that we should do a Punjabi song for a wedding. When I sang, it turned out be well. We then added more tadka to it. We then made a video, which will come out after 15-20 days. Ganesh Acharya did the choreography,” he said.
Both Shellee and Amit suggested that they should keep this one as the second or third song. “That’s because I have an image of running a company; a corporate image. So, they said let us come out with something sober to begin with. That’s how ‘Rab Rakhda’ came. It turned out to be well. Warner Music said that we should make a video of this. But I am not an actor from any stretch of imagination (laughs). I don’t mind being portrayed as a singer in a video. Even in my ‘Wahe Guru’ video, I am there only 10-20% of the times. The song is a love triangle. But I am only there for 10-20%, just to establish that I am a singer,” said Bijli.
Sharing the thought behind ‘Shukriya’, he said, “I believe in a lot of gratitude and I see a lot of people who are not thankful for what they have. Koi thankful hi nahin hai aaj ki duniya mein. I spoke to Shellee and Amit and all the light bulbs lit up. Amit turned up with an amazing composition and beautiful lyrics in not even seven days. I then suggested adding a Sufi touch to it. Then it became even bigger. We will make a video of this too. It will be a very big video.”
‘Rab Rakhda’ has the word ‘Rab’, which means God. ‘Shukriya’ is about being grateful for what one has while Bijli’s earlier song ‘Wahe Guru’ was also about God. When asked if he is more inclined towards divine and spiritual numbers, he said, “I am spiritual and I do recite God’s name, like everyone. But ‘Rab Rakhda’ was never thought to be a divine song. It was always a love song. It has Rab ka naam but it is like Rab is looking at your love story as well. It is not a prayer. It is still a love song. ‘Shukriya’ is not a divine song. But a sufi song can be divine and love song. But you are right – in both the songs there is a divine angle. But that was not the intention. If you watch the video, it is not about God. It is about so many people you can be grateful to.”
Signing off, Ajay Bijli said about ‘On Another Note’, “I have put my heart and soul into it and given as much passion as I do when I open a PVR cinema.”
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