Folk tunes go mainstream

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Papon, the Assamese folk singer, is riding high on his mainstream success for his song Kyon in Barfi and will be performing in Delhi for the Bacardi NH7 Weekender in October. He talks to us about his love for music, Bollywood music and his upcoming projects.

Q. Tell us briefly about your background. We have heard you have an interesting story to tell on that!
My musical journey began before I was born, my mother was pregnant when she was teaching and learning Indian classical music. My father is a folk legend of Assam. He’s been performing folk music and popularising it for years, and is a very well-respected figure in Assamese folk music. I was born into a musical family and that’s where the journey began. But I didn’t take music as a profession till later in my life. I was studying to become an architect in Delhi. It took me a while to realise I am good at creating music and singing!

Q. How did Kyun (Barfi) happen? Tell us about your experience of singing with Sunidhi Chauhan.
Kyun is a nice old Hindi melody and I really enjoyed singing it. Sunidhi is super talented and a really versatile vocalist. She brings life into any kind of song and it was great working with her. Pritam and I have been in touch since I sang Jiyein kyun (for Dum Maro Dum) and it was nice of him to remember me. Anurag Basu also likes a deep low baritone voice. So that helped in me being chosen for the film.

Q. Are you open to further interesting projects in Bollywood?
I am hopefully looking at different films with interesting composers and songwriters. There are now lots of alternative film ideas coming in and the Indian music scene is getting much more interesting. The viewer and listener get more options and get a variety to choose from. I’m glad that I’ve started with Bollywood at this time. They have also started experimenting with various kinds of music and voices. I think it’s the right time for me.

Q. How is your other project Troikala coming along?
So far, the album, which is a collaboration with Rachel Sermanni and Bickram Ghosh is sounding really good, and is shaping up well. The project was conceived by British Council for becoming a music album and a tour. Rachel is an amazing singer-songwriter, sensitive and focused in her thoughts. Bickram is a flamboyant, amazing percussionist with a free soul. We came together really well and have already performed together in the UK at the Alchemy festival earlier this year. The response was quite good.

Q. Tell us about your future plans.
A lot more music! Troikala, the album, should be out in the next few months. I’ve also been performing a lot with my own band Papon and The East India Company, so there’s a whole lot of touring as well.

Q. Your next performance in Delhi is at the music festival Bacardi NH7 Weekender — can you tell us about that?
I’ve performed at Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune before and have had a great concert. It’s a fantastic festival, with lots of music and great vibe. Probably, the happiest festival around! I can’t wait to perform at the festival in Delhi.