Exclusive interview of Manzar singer Vipin Aneja

Vipin Aneja is a playback singer in Bollywood. He sang the popular song ‘Jaane Tere Shehar Ka’ in the movie Jazbaa which stars the late Irrfan Khan and Aishwarya Rai. He got his Bollywood break with the song ‘Saheb Bada Hathila’ in the movie Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster.

He was born and brought up in Delhi. He has a degree in Business Administration from the New York State University but chose music as his career. He performed for AR Rahman’s world peace concert, ‘Unity of Light’, and travelled with the musician to Dubai and Malaysia amongst other countries. He was also a lead singer of the band ‘Sixth Sense’ in the ‘Idea Rocks India’ show on Colors (TV channel) and made a mark as a remarkable singer and a powerpack performer.

His recent release called Manzar which he has sung along with Indian Idol 10 winner Salman Ali has been receiving great feedback from the audiences and members of the music and film fraternity.

Was it easy for you to shift your career from business administration to being a Singer?

Shifting from business administration to being a singer & live performer was very organic, it was like how fish takes to water! It was the year 2000 when I cut my first non-film music album, “Teri Payal” which received a lot of support from the music channels & the radio stations too. Alongside, I became the most popular live performer for national & international corporate giants.

Do you agree that the lasting melody in today’s music is below par?

Yes indeed. Now all the more as I feel the kind of stuff the youth is fed is very down right commercial with very low content value and it’s actually use & throw mentality. Those songs are there today and gone tomorrow.

How was it working with Salman?

Salman is like a younger brother and gives me a lot of love and respect. When Gilbert came up with Manzar, I thought of a collaboration of two completely different voices coming together for the first time. Salman with his Sufi space and my Ghazlish kinda lehja interpreted with some classical rendition.

How was your experience working with AR Rahman sir?

Working with AR Rahman was a dream come true. I had toured with him in the past for unity of light peace concerts. He called me to sing for a big Tamil film song, “Simtaangaran” for the film Sarkar, I have some prominent parts in that song and it has hit nearly a 100 million mark.

Any Anecdotes while recording Manzar, if you can share?

Given that it was shot amidst lockdown Manzar was merely shot in a couple of hours in those challenging circumstances in Bandra, it required a lot of smart planning with articulation. Salman & I were to shoot for 2 hours and our parts were done in less than an hour. Prashantt, Devansh & the team told a very relevant and most impactful story in today’s times.

Your favourite composers from the bygone era and why?

Madan Mohan saab, RD Burman, Salil da & more. Madan Mohan created some heart wrenching melodies which always resonated with me as a child & till date when I hear Veer Zara. It’s simply timeless!

Which songs/genre are you more comfortable with or say which songs do you listen most?

I listen to all genres. But what’s closest to my heart is soul music. Be it film, Sufi, ghazal or even in the modern space.

Do you think Punabi, Sufi, raps have taken over Bollywood music?

Yes, currently the way things are, commercial punjabi music has taken over Bollywood in a big way. Well, the bottom line is that we have to cater to the public demand but with that comes responsibility and the true original art has to get some.