Actor-singer Paresh Pahuja says acting has not eclipsed his musical innings

Enjoying his moment under the sun, talented actor-singer Paresh Pahuja is hitting just the right notes. Be it on the musical scene, where his songs Dooron Dooron and Botalaan are striking a chord with gen next, or his ace part as Mahi, a no holds barred fusion musician in Bandish Bandits Season 2, the new star on the block sure is climbing the popularity charts.

In Chandigarh to kick-start his nationwide tour, Paresh, however, is nowhere like the angst(y) Mahi. As gentle as his musical compositions, he has no hesitation in admitting that indeed Bandish Bandits 2, has given him the right push. And he is forever grateful to the director, Anand Tiwari, for the role, which has many shades and is so beautifully developed and equally ably etched by him.

Donning many hats

No, he doesn’t think Mahi has eclipsed his musical innings. Rather, since he plays a musician in the series, it made viewers not only notice him as an actor but also impelled them to discover his music. Any wonder Dooron…which he composed two years ago is suddenly a rage!

Between acting and music, he would not choose one over the other. If the Indian film industry is known for actor-singers like Kishore Kumar and now Diljit Dosanjh and Ayushmann Khurrana, in Hollywood he reminds, “Right from a Meryl Streep to a Ryan Gosling sing and act.” He too has been acting for a while and made his debut in 2017 with Tiger Zinda Hai. If the big break in a dream production, no less than YRF (Yash Raj Films) was about being in the right place at the right time, it has also been a roller coaster, yet challenging, ride since then.

If in Bandish Bandits 2 he mentors lead protagonist Radhe’s band, one person who has mentored him is the successful filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar. Seen in three of Zafar’s directorial ventures, including Tandav and Jogi, apart from Tiger Zinda Hai, in moments of doubt and uncertainty, Paresh always turns to him for advice. He avers, “If you are surrounded by the right kind of storytellers, the energy you receive is very vital.” Having rubbed shoulders with the likes of Pankaj Tripathi and Salman Khan, he has learnt another important lesson on ‘how not to hold, rather give back’.

Special connect with Punjab

One of the reasons why he began his tour from Chandigarh is he found so much love and support from this part of the country. A Sindhi by birth, he has this special connect with Punjab and Punjabi, ‘a beautiful language with even more beautiful sound’, and also courtesy his friend and lyricist Shiv Tandan. If Paresh’s songs have a fair smattering of Punjabi words, they are infused with Sufi mystic Bulle Shah’s poetry too. And one Bulle Shah couplet he lives by is Zeher vekh ke peeta te ki peeta, Ishq soch ke keeta te ki keeta, Dil de ke dil lain di aas rakhi, Pyar eho jeha keeta te ki keeta. (If you drink poison with premeditation or love before thinking, it is of no use. If you give your heart with expectations of reciprocation, it’s no love at all.)”

Interestingly, the name of his concert Voice Notes too stems from a love story of sorts; his love for voice, ‘which has a certain truth and authenticity that can’t be replicated and is as unique as your finger prints’. Besides, he is very much a ‘voice notes person’ and invariably communicates with his friends, family, music collaborators and more through them. If for him, ‘all love stories are personal and universal at the same time’, he also professes, ‘every art form must have that emotional truth’. In Bandish Bandits, he might have famously uttered the lines, ‘There is music for the soul and there is music for the kitchen’, he believes, ‘Music is all soul’.

Confident take

As the scene of independent music is right now thriving ‘thanks to digital distribution and collaborations across the world easily possible’ as well as teeming with more and more talent, competition does not bother him. “There are 8 billion people on this planet. If you make your music dil se, it will cut through and find its listeners,” he says.

Ki main karaan ke main aavan nazar tenu (what should I do so you can see me)... right now the artiste in him is certainly more than visible to many art enthusiasts!

Classical music must reach more audiences

As Mahi in Bandish Bandits Season 2, Paresh Pahuja utters many home truths on fusion music, gharanas, making classical music accessible and more.

For someone not trained in classical parampara, he would not like to make any grand statements except that classical music must reach more and more audiences. Learning sitar especially for the part was no mean task. But for him, the beauty of every new part is the new learning that comes along.