Varad Mehta did not know that he would ever cross path with Sachin Sanghvi, a Bollywood music composer he grew up listening to, on social media. “It feels so fulfilling,” says Mehta after Sachin Sanghvi of the Sachin-Jigar music composer duo shared his song on Instagram.
Mehta released “Ghar”, a song in his native language of Gujarati on Jan. 17 and in matter of hours, it was shared and appreciated by many influential personalities. “I have heard it quite a few times now and I’m glad that stuff like this has started to happen in Gujarati from so deep within inside,” posted Sanghvi on his Instagram.
Music duo Sachin-Jigar has composed music in numerous Bollywood movies in past two decades. They have also composed music for several movies in their native language Gujarati. “I have grown up listening to their tracks. I was very inspired by their music,” remarked Mehta about Sachin-Jigar.
Mehta has been doing music for more than six years now. Mehta also works as a journalist at CBC Radio, a job he says, helps him financially to “support his music.” Mehta further added, “I think being from an Indian family, I have sort of a pragmatic approach. You need to have a ‘Plan B’ alongside the thing you really like to do.”
Akanksha Dogra, Mehta’s fiancée, believes that his dedication has paid off. “He makes sure that he takes time out for his music and it is commendable, because a lot of people do not pursue music as a career and it just becomes a mere hobby,” said Dogra.
All of Mehta’s original songs have been in his native language of Gujarati. “I think Gujarati feels very much real to me and it feels authentic,” said Mehta. However, he is open to making songs in different languages too. “As an independent artist, I would love to continue doing Gujarati music. But in future if Bollywood calls, I wish, then it will be amazing.”
Mehta feels that the response he is getting for his latest song has been “humbling” for him. However, he argues that this is not the most highlighting response in his young music career. “My first song I put out, ‘Tari Mari Vaato’, is very special. That’s the first song that someone else sung and put it up on their social media. So, I think that feeling can never be repeated,” recalls Mehta. “If someone else is appreciating your work and repeating it, I think that says a lot. And it encourages me to do more stuff like that.”
Hansil Mehta 