“I was just another singer in my village in Uttar Pradesh. Back there, every third voice is just like mine, but in the industry, it’s considered something new,” says Brijesh Shandilya, a man of humble origins who has braved the odds to transcended the barriers of region, industry and language. He recently sang a song for Harris Jayaraj in AR Murugadoss’ Spyder . “We all want something,” he smiles, “But we don’t get what we want by simply desiring. If you want it, fight for it. And I fought hard. And here I am.”
He shot to fame with ‘Banno’, the hit song from Tanu Weds Manu: Returns. With its rustic Haryanvi rendition, the song won hearts all over the country. “‘Banno’ is a song that has a very special place in my heart,” he says, “It showed me what stardom is. It was only after ‘Banno’ that people recognised who I am. In more ways than one, it set the tone for my career in the industry.”
Breaking boundaries
Language is no barrier to this singer. “We sing songs in the western style, a style that isn’t even ours. But when you sing a song in a different language, people ask you if you found it hard. All these languages are ours, aren’t they?,” he says. Having already sung for Hindi dubs of other films, he was encouraged to experiment in Kollywood by lyricist Ramajogayya Sastry, with whom he had worked in the past.
Spyder, his debut, is an upcoming bilingual spy film, with Harris Jayaraj directing the music. “I consider myself extremely lucky,” Shandilya says, “It’s a dream come true to debut with such a large film associated with the likes of AR Murugadoss, Mahesh Babu and Harris Jayaraj. It was a fantastic experience working with Harris Jayaraj. He’s a very big name here, and it is an honour to sing in his studio. I’ve learnt a lot from him about music.”
A new twist
Not one to sit idle, Shandilya already has a lot on his hands. He’s currently working on something different with his band Madari. “It’s dedicated to Lord Shiva. We will be making devotional music with a modern twist, to cater to the tastes of the current generation,” he signs off.