Meet the bros

Having delivered hits like ‘Baby Doll’ and ‘Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan’ and the latest ‘Ek Diamond Da Haar Lede Yaar’, music director duo Manmeet Singh and Harmeet Singh popularly known as Meet Bros, were recently in Goa. NT BUZZ caught up with them

RAMANDEEP KAUR | NT BUZZ

Coming to Mumbai and making a mark in music is something that the Meet Bros always dreamt of. Indeed, even way back in their schooling days, the duo won much appreciation for their performances together.

 “We knew that we wanted to go out and perform for people. But for that we needed songs,” says Manmeet, who along with his brother Harmeet were down in Goa recently. Having begun their journey in the pop music scene, they gradually moved towards making their own music.

But it was more than a decade before the brothers truly became popular in the music industry after they came out with their hit songs ‘Baby Doll’ and ‘Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan’, which they describe as “life-changing”.

“It was through these songs that people got to know who we are and what we do. We started music somewhere in 2000-2001 and ‘Baby Doll’ and ‘Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan’ came out in 2014 and 2015 respectively so it took us a good 14 to 15 years to learn how to do what we do and to also deliver hits like these two songs,” says Harmeet adding that this was the actual birth of the ‘Meet Brothers’, as they are popularly known today.

Over the span of their career, the duo has so far worked closely with legends like Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan and also won multiple awards including the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, the Screen Award for Best Music Director, and the IIFA Award for Best Music Director.

And having recently released their first song of 2020, ‘Ek Diamond Da Haar Lede Yaar’, penned by Kumaar that features actress Urvashi Rautela, the brothers admit that they have a penchant for creating “happy songs”. In fact, Manmeet states that they like to create lines that especially girls love and which they can enjoy singing and dancing too. “Whenever we go for shows, the ladies come and thank us for giving them amazing songs to dance and perform on for weddings, and ask us to make more such songs,” he says, adding that it is such live interactions with people that help them pen their tunes. That, and having fun. “We have realised that whenever you have fun with what you do, you get the best outcome. I think that has always been the case with us. Kumaar and Harmeet are very funny, so when we sit together, we are usually laughing while making songs. I think that is why there is such a happy and positive vibe in all our songs,” says Manmeet.

Also, the brothers are not genre specified in terms of liking music. “That is why our music is also not genre specific,” says Harmeet.

And over the years since they began, Manmeet says that there have been significant changes in the music industry. Indeed, when they started out, independent music was booming, he says. “We had the likes of Malkit Singh, Daler Mehndi, Lucky Ali, Mika Singh, Shaan, Sonu Nigam, Falguni Pathak and so on, and bands like ‘Stereo Nation’, ‘Bally Sagoo’, etc. But this phase ended and the era of remixes started like ‘Kaanta Laga’, ‘Kaliyon Ka Chaman’ and it lasted for good two to three years,” he explains, adding that this caused the pop music scene in India to just vanish. “It was the death of the pop. In the early 90s, pop was doing well but by early 2000s it finished and Bollywood music took over,” he says. However, Manmeet continues, in 2010, the independent music scene started up again.

“We had Honey Singh and others who came on YouTube but then recreations started again. Now it is a matter of six to seven months and remixes will be a history because independent music is become bigger than ever before in India. In fact, independent music is standing almost neck and neck with Bollywood music and I think mostly it will take over,” he says.

In fact, these days, says Harmeet, what really trends is anything which is different and relatable. Lyrics too have become important, he says. While original Punjabi music is the real trend today, Harmeet says: “Bhojpuri and Haryanvi will become the next popular genres I think.”

As for the Meet Bros music label – MB Music, 2020 is definitely going to be a big year for them. They plan to come out with 35 to 36 singles with popular and new singers and in different styles like Punjabi, Hindi, party songs. “We will also be doing a couple of films because that is our second love,” says Manmeet and adds: “We never imagined that so much good music would come out of us. It is a gift from God more than anything else.”