Without discounting the effort he has consistently put into his craft, it could be safe to assume that Arjun Kanungo had a lot working in his favour when it came to charting a Bollywood career. A musician whose work was lapped up by listeners so swiftly that he managed to bag a dream acting debut alongside Salman Khan, Kanungo, however, chose to pave a different path. “I loved the experience of working on Radhe, but I don’t know if Bollywood is a place I am suited for. It has never been a priority, and I’ve been open about the fact that I’ve never chased it. [Only] if the script excites me will I be motivated [to work on another one],” he says, quick to add that he has, however, been dabbling in acting and has collaborated with a cousin for a feature film.
Currently, however, Kanungo has his attention trained on his long-in-the-making debut album, Industry, a far cry from the signature pop style he has been known for. “The more that non-film music continues to grow in India, the more will [be the need] to create an album. It enables me to showcase what I am capable of, on a deeper level. The importance of poetry in lyricism is increasing. More often than not, an album is the story of an artiste.”
Industry, which sees him join hands with frequent collaborator King, producer-writer Yash Vaid, and UK-based mixer Martin Hollis, is essentially an album on relationships. “Part one has seven songs that have been penned by me. King is such a good writer that it can be intimidating to collaborate with him, in a good way. One track is dark and edgy. Another one is a track on heartbreak. I like to talk about relationships, because, without people, there’s no context to music. The first one speaks of toxic relationships, another is on my relationship with this industry.”
When establishing his method of working a couple of years ago, Kanungo had told mid-day that he relies on a “simple formula” — to only do the things that make him happy. When he speaks of this album being a reflection of how much he has evolved in the last few years, we’re eager to know how his formula served him. “I have been associated with many labels, and have enjoyed those associations, but I didn’t want to entertain interference when stating what I wanted to, with this album. I finally have the guts to pursue things, while putting my commercial stability on the line.”
Music milestone
2002: Amid much fanfare, the country welcomed the all-girls pop band, Viva, whose debut album was backed by artistes like Javed Akhtar
