Anuv Jain was just 16 when he wrote his first ever song Baarishein, which took the online world by storm when the singer decided to release it on his official YouTube channel in 2016. The song, which currently has more than 44 million views on YouTube, continues to help hundreds of thousands of people push through hard times, and a close look at the stories and revelations that unfurls beneath its video is a testament to that.
Anuv is fiercely independent. He writes everything, and plays, records and produces it all in his small studio in the same house he grew up in. And even after doing music professionally for more than seven years, there has been no transition to “mainstream” for the singer. He still makes the same kind of music he always has. “As an artiste, we should be honest about what we want to do,” Anuv told us over a Zoom interview right before his performance at the BACARDÍ NH7 WEEKENDER in Pune.
“I feel there are so many genres in this world and there’s a place for everything and if you do it right, I’m sure you will get by. Obviously, it’s very easy to get influenced because you are often like, ‘Oh, this is getting popular these days or this might get popular in coming days.’ But I’m just going to make the kind of music I like to listen or something that my mom or sister likes to listen to. When they are happy with the kind of music I’m making, I’m happy putting it our for people,” the 27-year-old music sensation added.
Anuv, who has gone from recording his tracks on a second-hand phone to racking up millions of streams nationwide, has set a new path to fame in the independent music scene, thanks to his immensely loved tracks Alag Aasmaan, Gul, Riha, and his recent single Mazaak. However, this wasn’t something he had anticipated at all.
“I wrote Baarishein when I was 16 and I was in this tiny room, recording it on an old phone that my mom had given me. I just recorded it and put it out. The song became a little popular when I was in school. Even though it was just a phone recording and there were probably 100 people listening to it but those 100 people meant a lot to me at the time. But I never thought that it was going to turn into a monster that it is right now. I have seen it grow from 10 views a day to hundreds of thousands of views and streams now which is absolutely insane and this was like completely independently. So, it blows my mind every time this happens,” the singer said.
So is composing or singing in films in his Wishlist? Anuv said, “Movies are always on the cards because it’s definitely a very big platform. I work very hard on my music and writing these songs and I want each and every person in this country or the world to listen to my music. That’s what I’m aiming for. I think movies will definitely give me that platform, but the thing is I’m not greedy for something like this. I want to wait and take my own time. If something good comes my way, I’d love to do it but I just don’t want to get into it and take up any project because I don’t really need that.”
Lastly, sharing his excitement about performing at the NH7 WEEKENDER, the singer said, “It’s one of the best and the biggest things for me. I have been hearing about NH7 WEEKENDER ever since I started doing music. A lot of my friends have also been to this particular event and now that I’m getting to be a part of it, everybody around me is excited. I have been trying to get on NH7 stage for the longest time and now that it’s finally happening, it really means a lot to me because I know that some of the biggest artistes around the world have performed on the NH7 stage.”
