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Lokvani Talks To Ajitabh Ranjan

Ranjani Saigal
07/21/2010

Ajitabh is an IITian turned Singer/Composer/Lyricist. He is an NRI settled in Boston/USA. “My Name is Ajitabh” is his much awaited debut album. He has not only sung all the songs but has also directed the music and written all of the songs himself. This album has a wide variety and it encompasses modern as well as the old trends of the indi-pop genre. And yet this album can truly be said to be a trend in itself. Some of the songs (e.g. “Manchahe raste per”) can indeed be said to be path breaking.  For this album, Ajitabh has composed the tunes from both inside and outside of Hinduatani classical ragas.  For example, the song “Manchahe raste per” is based on the raga “Nayaki Kanada”.

Ajitabh is very well known for his sweet & melodious voice/tonal quality, and passion for art & creativity in the Indian circles in Boston/USA area. To his credit he has given over 50 performances in the last 10 years on stage and a few of them are to the audiences as large as 5000 to 10000. Ajitabh possesses a unique ability to take any song and sing it in the styles of legendry singers Mohd Rafi and Kishore Kumar. This is truly unprecedented – as most singers follow either one of them but never both. And yet he sings his songs in his own style and he is original in his presentation. He is expected to do very well in professional pursuit of his passion for singing and music.

While he is actively pursuing a career in music, he also has a career as an engineering architect in Motorola USA. Check out his website www.ajitabhranjan.com

 Congratulations on releasing your record. Your songs are topping the charts at B4U. How does it feel to have such a successful debut album?
 
Thanks. Obviously I feel great about it. My very first video is clubbed with big Bollywood names like number one music director Preetam, Jermaine Jackson (MJ's brother), Adnan Sami, Mohit Chauhan, Deler Menhdi etc. That is quite overwhelming.
 
However, I have not yet tasted commercial success. That keeps me grounded.

What motivated you to create this album?
 
Music is my life. And I obviously needed an outlet for my passion. I wish I had come out with this kind of work a little earlier. Besides, my work on the music albums is meant to serve as a stepping stone for entering professional music world.

You are an Engineer by profession. How did you develop an interest in music?
 
My engineering career has given me a good livelihood and I feel very good about it. But I feel that my ties with music is deeper and across the births ! Since the age of twelve, I have passionately followed singers like Mohd Rafi & Kishore Kumar even though I did not have a formal training as a child or teenager.

What kind of training have you had in music?

I received formal training under Warren Senders here in Boston/US (worth 275 lessons). However, I have followed some great singers and that also helped me quite a bit.

It is amazing that you write, compose and sing your songs. How difficult is it to do all three?
 
See for me it's a lot of fun to do all three by myself for most part. I enjoy being creative. And by now I have developed a knack for it. But yes, sometimes it is overwhelming.

Who are your role models in the music world?
 
Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Madan Mohan. SD/RD Burman, Kalyan Ji Anand Ji, Anand Bakshi and several others from older generation. From the new generation it is Pretam, KK and Sukhwinder Singh whom I like the most although I'm not sure if I would call them as my role models. All from Bollywood. I don't have too much fascination with classical music although I enjoy singing and listening to Ragas from time to time.

What are your hopes for the future ? Do you ever plan to make music a full time occupation?
 
My music album is under review by some music directors (like Amit Trivedi) and film directors (like Subhash Ghai). I have consistently received good reviews. So I do hope that I would earn my break into movies some day. But the distance is also a barrier. I will continue to work on music albums. And if I get a big break into professional music world then making music a full time occupation is quite possible.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you




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