Mainstreaming Punjabi and Haryanvi music

Express News Service

Last week, multilingual singer Paras Chopra (he sings in Hindi, Punjabi and Haryanvi) released a wedding song in Punjabi titled Yaar Mera Ghodi Chad Gaya. Sung and composed by Chopra, the peppy number also features Kanika Bhardwaj and Amit Channiwala.

“Weddings are occasions to have fun and dance, especially if it’s your friend’s wedding. We have portrayed that excitement in the video and the lyrics too,” says the 25-year-old.

Chopra previously composed, sung and featured in a Haryanvi song, Olha that crossed 1 million views on YouTube in the first week of its release. His other Haryanvi song Pehla Pyaar crossed 1 million views within 24 hours.

An MA in Music from MDU, Rohtak, Chopra has provided music for many independent tracks, produced a song, Tere Aane Se, and since 2018, runs his own music company, Tarz Productions. Chopra, who hails from a family of musicians, always knew music was his calling.

“When I was five, it was the era of cassettes and CDs. I used to accompany my father to the studio for his recordings, staying there for three-four consecutive days. Whenever the crew took a break, I would try my hand at playing different instruments. Those were some of my best childhood memories,” remembers Chopra, who started playing harmonium at nine, then the guitar and the drums, winning many school and college competitions and accolades even at a national level.

One of his happiest memories was winning in the harmonium category at the yearly event organised by the sports authority, in district, state, national and then international level.

“While the age limit for participation was 40, I was just eight years old, and winning that competition was a proud moment for me and my father,” adds Chopra, who devotes the mornings to riyaaz. However, the path is not always rosy.

“Even I receive hate and negativity, but that is part and parcel of being in this profession. I focus on love and positivity,” says Chopra.

While Punjabi songs have made a place for them, he feels, “There will be a change in the Haryanvi Industry too but with the passage of time. I have done very unique songs in Haryana. Every person has something new to bring to the table. Compared to other industries, the change here may be a bit slow, but as we all know, ‘Change is the only constant’,” says Chopra, who idolises his father and singers Arijit Singh and Atif Aslam, and still misses the jam sessions with his friends at his college auditorium, when he was pursuing a BBA degree. In the works are a Punjabi song and a melancholic Hindi album scheduled to release by December.