CHENNAI: Composer Raajeev V Bhalla and playback singer Benny Dayal are on a mission to make the world smile through a pandemic. The two artists invited their musician friends to celebrate life with 'Jee Le.' The song is a joyful collaboration of hope as it encourages the world not to overthink problems and just live in the moment.
The video of the song features popular Indian artists like Salim Merchant, Vishal Dadlani, Shalmali Kholgade, Armaan Malik, Aditya Narayan, Jonita Gandhi, Shilpa Rao, Aditi Singh Sharma, Divya Kumar, Shruti Pathak, Siddhart Mahadevan, Mihir Joshi, Arunaja, Kamakshi Khanna, Lisa Mishra, Nikita Gandhi, Sangeet/Anusha, Shashwat Singh, Saptak Chatterjee and Shefali Alvarez.
The New Indian Express spoke to the two on the making of and creative process behind the song. Excerpts from the conversation:
What first got you into music?
Raajeev: For me, when I was a kid, I was exposed to a lot of Sufi music, lot of Nusrat Saab, Ghulam Ali Saab, and then later on when I was in 6th standard I got introduced to Pakistani rock band 'Junoon', which was my main influence in music. Of course, our Indie pop stars like Mohit Chauhan, Silk Route, Lucky Ali got me into my initial stage of musicality. Then of course there is a wide range from Craig David, Elton John and many more international artists. But, primarily, 'Junoon' was the driving force for me to pick up the guitar.
Benny: The first thing that got me into music was a video cassette that my dad got me on my 5th birthday. It was Michael Jackson's 'Moonwalker'. It was a children's movie and that is what got me into music for the rest of my life. Michael Jackson all the way.
What was the inspiration behind this song and when did the idea occur to you?
Raajeev: The inspiration was the whole mental space during this lockdown. We were all going through so much of anxiety and tension about 'what's gonna happen', so I wanted to put myself at ease as well. At the end of the day, we need to smile and live for our family members. So I thought let me calm myself and see what is the one thing that will make me smile if I hear it. It came very naturally to me, 'Jee le, iss pal mein khul ke jee le'. That was the inspiration and idea behind the song.
Benny: 'Jee Le' was originated and written by Rajeev. I hopped onto it because it felt like it was the right opportunity to speak the right things to the people during these times. People have forgotten to lead their lives to the fullest because of the pandemic and all the other limitations. So, I felt 'Jee Le' would be a perfect concept to be a part of.
Considering the negative shadow cast by the pandemic, how did you manage to turn this into a positive message and what problems did you face? What is your creative process like?
Raajeev: Since our childhood, we have been taught that no matter the situation, no matter how negative it feels, we have to look out for something positive and find a ray of hope. This is the general practice in our household -- we are used to looking at things in a positive way. I think that itself was the inspiration to keep ourselves motivated during this time.
Benny: It was more about musicians wanting to be happy. If everyone including musicians becomes sad, then there is no more joy remaining. We artists have to maintain a positive state of mind when we create art. That is the only way we can arrive at such a positive message. So, doing 'Jee Le' and the creative process of it was a beautiful journey for us together to get it across. There were limitations that we were not next to each other but social distancing is of utmost importance right now.
Walk me through the process of your collaboration, especially at a time when social distancing is the new normal. How did you manage to get other musicians on board?
Raajeev: About the other musicians involved I give complete credit to Benny, he is the one who messaged all his musician and singer friends. He sent them the song and they all loved it. It was just his love and his connections with musicians.
Benny: Collaborations happen just like that. I feel like collaborations bring out some of the best music in the world because they happen out of nowhere. We can't say 'Oh. I was thinking that this should be done with this person', it doesn't work like that. You have no control over it. I hope I collaborate with someone great again, it doesn't matter who it is, as long as the music is great and the feeling is great.
According to you, what are the essential qualities that make a good musician?
Raajeev: The basic quality to be a good musician is that one needs to learn music. I see a lot of younger musicians who just get a laptop, software and a small mini controller and start considering themselves as producers already, but that's not the case. You need to learn music theory and at least one instrument in a decent average manner so that you can understand music and the genres. I think in today's time, you can't even block yourself from one genre, so to become a multi-genre musician you need to know the ABCD and the basic grammar of music to make all these genres possible. It's like a chef who needs to understand the ingredients to turn them into anything he wants. To me, the basic quality is to learn music and have a strong base. Once you do that, everything else will fall in place.
Benny: The essential qualities that make a good musician are firstly great talent, then a good heart and thirdly someone who hones their own personality and is original rather than being an offshoot of someone else.
How would you describe the music that you typically create? Was this different or more challenging and if so, how?
Raajeev: See, I come from an advertising background, so we are used to working on a different brief every day. It can go from hip-hop to folk to rock to jazz to pop to country, my music is hence a mix of all genres. I can't lock myself into one genre of music.
Benny: I don't know if I create anything typically. I create what comes to me, I hop on to something that my heart feels right about. Everything is a challenge and everything is different, that's how I approach it. For me as an artist, I like to start from zero every time I do something. This time 'Jee Le' was a new journey with a new musician. I'd never collaborated with Raajeev before other than some commercial work a couple of years ago. This was the right opportunity to do something together and it just felt right.
Who else would you most like to collaborate with next?
Raajeev: I already have a song coming up with Niti Mohan and another one with Shefali Alwariz and a lot of music is coming in the future.
The video is very quirky and peppy. How does the whole music creation process pan out now that you guys can't just meet and jam as easily as before? What are the challenges you faced while shooting the video amid a pandemic with such limited resources?
Raajeev: This is the second video that is out -- the first one I did was a complete graphic version of this. That was another interesting part of it because during the lockdown I brushed up on my childhood love of painting and sketching. I got into digital painting and made sure I took a lot of online courses and quickly learned the basics to turn my drawing into visual moving graphics. The other musicians simply sent us their 30-second clips on the phone, then I'd have to edit and see how to make each frame fun and cool. It was a fun exercise to do. Also, there was a responsibility I felt with so many people making this possible. Most of all, it was sweet that so many people supported this message of positivity during these difficult times.
Benny: Since COVID has taken control of our lives, meeting and jamming is not easy. But thanks to video calls, we can see the person and understand each other's emotions or energies. After the first animated video, we invited other musicians like Salim Merchant, Vishal Dadlani, Armaan Malik, Shilpa Rao, Shalmali Kholgade, Jonita Gandhi and Shruti Pathak to come and lip-sync to the song. They all said yes because they loved the energy of the song and they were happy to be a part of it. They are all busy artists so a huge thanks to them for giving their feedback and getting their 'A-okay' on it. For all of them to be a part of this was an amazing feeling. The only main limitation was not being able to meet and vibe with Raajeev while we made the song. but we still had a great connection and it was a quick process.
Now that there is a possibility of making music videos like this, do you think this is going to become more prevalent?
Raajeev: Music videos like this should have happened long back because, for artists who are producing and distributing their own music, it's not possible to spend lakhs on the production of each video they make. It also pushes you to think more creatively -- on how to make graphics and mobile shot footage into a more fun outcome. It's good to produce more videos like this and I think it's the future for sure.
Benny: For me, this kind of making music will not become prevalent, it has to change. It is temporary for me. I wouldn't even call it the 'new normal'. Making music has to be in front of each other for me because much more positive vibes and spontaneous things can happen when you are next to each other. Music videos like this will only happen till COVID ends, everything will hopefully come back to normal.
Both the artists refused to comment on the ongoing slew of probes against industry members over alleged drug charges.