‘Freshtake’ by Abhay Jodhpurkar

We’ve come past several songs that have managed to create an impact over the years. While some fade in time some still ring a bell in every one of our hearts. Most of these songs happen to be compositions by A.R. Rehman! Training under his esteemed guidance and being launched by his academy Abhay Jodhpurkar, is out with his ‘freshtake.’

This Indian playback singer is best known for his song Moongil Thottam, a duet with Harini for the Tamil film Kadal and E Sanje Eke Jaruthide for the Kannada film Rangi Taranga. In 2018, he sang Mere Naam Tu for Zero, marking his singing debut in Bollywood. Abhay is a trained classical singer and qawwal who sings for A.R Rehman's Sufi albums. He has worked with prominent music directors; A.R Rehman, D.Imman, Chirantan Bhatt and more for over 50 movies.

Speaking to him about when he realised that music was his calling Abhay says, “I was exposed to Tamil and Carnatic music, while pursuing my education in B.Tech in Chennai in 2009. When I started listening to the Tamil songs by A.R. Rehman Sir and Illairaja Sir, I realized that music is something I’m deeply attached to. It’s like a revelation I had to go through in order to realise that music is my ultimate calling.”

Abhay created a “Freshtake” of the Hindi song Aadatein in Tamil. The music video of the Tamil song titled Kanmani starring Television Superstar Shivangi Joshi, the lead protagonist of Star Plus’s number 1 show — Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai was released on February 19.

Sharing a bit on what the song is about Abhay says, “For me, Kanmani is all about conveying how one feels about their vulnerabilities honestly through the language of love, which doesn’t need love, it just needs honesty and the urge to reach out to that person and communicating how much they mean to you! It’s very heartfelt, unnerving, sensitive, yet powerful. All thanks to Ko-Sesha, who wrote these beautiful lyrics.”

In a world where most musicians focus is on inventing something new to go down in history, they tend to lose the soul of music. When asked what inspires Abhay’s music the most he says, “Nature inspires me the most to beautify my craft, and life experiences inspire me to be true to my singing and imparting that correct “feel” to the composition. And the most important thing — pain. It makes you strong in ways that could never be taught, you can only imbibe things that resonate with you on your personal journey and that is what keeps you original.”

Abhay is currently working on a Tamil song for A.R. Rehman’s musical romance flick, 99 songs.  

Sharing words of wisdom with aspiring musicians Abhay says, “Be true to your art, be very hardworking, make sure that you give it your best. It’s very important to find your character and Identity in terms of your art form. Find your own frequency so you can be honest and unique. If you think you’ve got it in you, nurture it, train yourself or get proper training from trained Artists in the respective fields. If you work really hard, you’re passionate and dedicated towards what you do then nobody can stop you.”