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Coke Studio Bharat’s Sufi Singer Kanwar Grewal On How Artists Are Enlightened Souls

As Coke Studio returns to India with the new IP Coke Studio Bharat, we interview singer Kanwar Singh Grewal who is a part of the music series this season.

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Singer-Kanwar-Grewal_Photo-By-Shweta-Parande
Sufi Singer Kanwar Grewal

By Shweta Parande

Coke Studio has been relaunched in India as Coke Studio Bharat, a name that will resonate more going with the theme of the new season of the music series. It will also add more weight to the series much like its original version Coke Studio Pakistan which is popular across the globe. India also recently saw the launch of the first-ever Coke Studio Tamil edition.

The earlier four Hindi editions in India were called Coke Studio @MTV and included some renowned singers along with some lesser-known talented names to create fusion music. The new property Coke Studio Bharat however will be on YouTube and social media platforms and not on any specific music channel. It will also include pan-India artists and will travel far and wide to find the best music talent in the country.

As Coke Studio returns to India, we were excited to be introduced to the participating singers at a grand press event held at The Taj Mahal Palace and Towers hotel in Mumbai. Helmed by Ankur Tewari of The Ghalat Family, with executive producers Universal Music India, music producer K J Singh and poet-lyricist Kausar Munir on board, Coke Studio Bharat promises to be a groundbreaking initiative.

Kanwar-Grewal_Photo-By-Shweta-Parande

Kanwar Grewal | Photo by Shweta Parande

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Cine Blitz spoke to Sufi singer and lyricist Kanwar Grewal from Bhatinda, who is part of Coke Studio Bharat’s first season. Excerpts from the chat.

You sang beautifully on stage at the Coke Studio Bharat launch and delivered an equally beautiful speech about how artists and singers are on a different plane than other human beings. Would you like to elaborate on that?

Beshak (No doubt that artists are unique human beings). When it is about activation (he means enlightenment or awareness of the soul), how active is the common man? NASA says human beings are 2 percent aware, so what is the reason behind 98 percent blockage? God has made me an artist in this life. Scientists, and musicians… are more conscious and therefore have a certain responsibility. When we get 100 percent active where we are aware of our soul, there exists God! Artists should make sure their musical journey is beautiful. They should be honest and truthful and give their 100 percent on stage or even while meeting people. One should be able to look into their eyes and feel how present they are in the current time. We don’t meet our listeners often, we design our time. So, some artists change their behavior and jaisi mehfil hainhum waisa bannane ki koshish karte hai (we try to be what our audience wants). I feel there is no need to do that. Jaise aap hain waise hee bane rahiye (An artist should not change. Be yourself).

It is a very beautiful thing to say. In today’s times, do you think commercial music artists, especially in Punjabi music and Bollywood, are not showing their true selves to the world? They deliver hit numbers that are actually out of tune. Any comment?

Be honest with your work (this is what I would say to them). Pick up a brush and paint only if you know how to paint, or practice first. First, learn the job or the art and then practice it. It is the basic philosophy of life. I am 35 now. I have been training in music since Class 6 in school and then in college and university. With God’s grace, I have trained under various Ustads (maestros) and went on to pursue Master’s in music from Patiala. Ishq hona chahiye apne profession se (One should be in love with one’s profession). One now feels a certain satisfaction while singing. But it is not that I feel my education is complete. I will keep learning music throughout my life. There is no end to it. It is God who makes me sing, create, and improvise….

Singer-Kanwar-Grewal_Photo-By-Shweta-Parande

Singer Kanwar Grewal | Photo by Shweta Parande

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How did you take to singing Sufi? Was it a calling or simply because you like that kind of music?

Nature is taking me towards it. For me to say in an interview that ‘I did this, I did that, decided that’ is not right. Mere khayal se yeh faltu ki baat hoti hai. Woh le jaa rahaa hai. (God is taking me towards it.) Main toh khaali mehnet kar raha hoon. Mera kaam tha ke music ko acche se samajhna aur apne aap ko educate karna. (I am just doing my job, working hard. It was my job to educate myself in music.) But which genre and where I am singing – it is God who is helping me do it. In my nine-year career, I have done 1,300 plus shows all over the world. And now I’m coming to Coke Studio and collaborating with people like Ankur Tewari. It is all God.

Please talk about your experience working on Coke Studio Bharat.

Bahot accha. Bahot acche log hai, yeh woh log hai jo ustad hain, sikh ke aaye hain. (It has been a great experience. These are all maestros.) People like Tajdar (Junaid) Sa’ab, Kenny Sa’ab, the musicians, then my collaborators Deveshi Sahgal and Amira Gill who I have sung with. The song is the one I have listened to while growing up, it is in my blood! I cannot reveal the song now but you will enjoy listening to it. I am a Sufi singer, but for Coke Studio Bharat, we will be paying tribute to the famous Punjabi folk singer (Lal Chand) Yamla Jatt by singing one of his songs.

Do you have a favorite song from the earlier seasons of Coke Studio India or Coke Studio Pakistan?

Arif Lohar Sa’ab’s song Jugni from Coke Studio Pakistan.

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Arif with Meesha Shafi…it’s a world-famous song, adapted to Bollywood for the movie Cocktail by AR Rahman in 2012 and sung by Harshdeep Kaur.

Oh, yes. Harshdeep is a wonderful artist. We have sung together in my new album, a track called Pardesiya. Bahot kamaal ki artist hai.

How about your favorites among old Sufi singers or in Bollywood / Indian music?

All-time favorites like the Pakistani greats Abida Parveen and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Also, Saieen Zahoor Ahmed Sahab – what an effect he has on me! I often listen to him, especially while returning home at night from my shows. All these singers are more surreal when listened to at night, as if they are saying something to you, to stop and take a look at life.

Are you working on any mainstream or ‘pan-India’ projects after Coke Studio? In spite of the independent music scene in India seeing a rise again, singing for the movies is still an aspiration. Do you plan to sing in Bollywood movies?

I am content and take it as it comes. Whatever happens, is for the best. Those who want to do pan-India, can. Sometimes we plan a pan-India song and it is not heard by anyone. If a song is connected to the roots, it automatically becomes pan-India, as everyone in the country listens to it. Kissi khaas mitti ki khusbhu se bana hua gaana. Arif Sa’ab’s Jugni became famous because it is Punjabi folk music.

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How has the experience been to shoot in Mumbai?

We have been shooting in Film City, Mumbai for Coke Studio Bharat, and it’s been good. I have traveled to the city four times for rehearsals, singing, and shoots…I have come to Mumbai earlier too, a few times, to record for the Punjabi movies I have sung for. And also for some shows. It’s been great.

Apart from Kanwar Grewal, Amira Gill, Deveshi Sahgal and Tajdar Junaid, Coke Studio Bharat’s 2023 edition will showcase singers and artists Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, Armaan Malik, Diljit Dosanjh, Jasleen Royal, OAFF & Savera, Rashmeet Kaur, Seedhe Maut, Ashima Mahajan, Achint, Aditya Gadhvi, Arijit Datta, Bombay Brass, Burrah, Charan Raj, Dhruv Vishwanath, Donn Bhatt, Hashbass, Mahan Sehgal, Mansa Pandey, Maithili Thakur & Brothers, Mohammad Muneem, Noor Mohammad, Osho Jain, Prabhdeep, Sakur Khan & Sons, Sanjith Hegde, and the Shillong Chamber Choir.

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