MUMBAI: Singer-Songwriter Jayant Sankla known for “Shukriya Papa” from the movie "Narayan" admits it’s more exciting to be a multitasker.

“There are many elements that come together to create beautiful music and when you love your craft, you end up learning new stuff just out of curiosity”. He started his journey as a musician at an early age of 14 years with basic knowledge of compositions and writing lyrics. Over the years, he understood the need to know the craft in whole and not just one or two elements. However, he does agree that being responsible for all parts becomes quite hectic and gets tougher “Especially when you are working on different projects simultaneously. Each project needs due attention and juggling between projects can therefore become frantic. But after all the tussle, when you hear the final product, you feel everything is worth it”.

One of the moments that Jayant would never forget was the release of “Tere Naina” written and composed by his late friend Pravesh Kumar and him. “I was happy that our first original finally came out, the fact that my friend was not there with me to enjoy the success made it bittersweet”.

In addition to this, the first project “The Wallet” he got in Mumbai was absolutely memorable. For someone who thought the struggle would be enduring in a new city, bagging the first project in such a short period definitely was extra special. He believes whatever he has done small or big plays a crucial role in who he is and therefore he believes his entire journey is cherishable. Each and every step he has taken has helped him stay motivated and reminded him of how far he has come and how far he has to go.

Describing his music to people who haven’t heard his song before, “My music is an amalgamation of genres. I have always aspired to do film music, so I made sure that I listen to every genre. Having said that, pop comes naturally to me as I have grown up listening to 90’s Bollywood hits. Apart from focusing on the vocal line, I include different melodies on different instruments as part of my production. I concentrate on chords and harmonies. Being a huge fan of the legendary composer A. R Rahman, I take inspiration from his music and try keeping the arrangement classy yet modern with the intent of creating a different world every time”.

Jayant is fortunate to say that he has spent his time working on his music and other projects. His recent projects include a short film for UN Women which got completed a few weeks back and an original release “Pyari Lagti Hai”. While things have slowly started to normalize, the pandemic has caused a severe hit to the music industry, especially for singers. Musicians are wired to survive any pandemic and in the absence of live music, everyone is engaging their audiences through virtual sessions. Though live shows have steadily picked up but people are skeptical to step out for leisure and entertainment, safety should be the utmost priority.

While the rapid growth of the music industry can be overwhelming, the singer shares that the only way to stay updated and dynamic is through constantly reading up and consuming a varied range of content. It opens your mind and lets you understand your audience preferences. However, that also means to stay true to your music. “Your music is your identity. Get inspired by others but do not lose your originality”.

In terms of future projects, currently, he is working on tracks for an audio tour that is setting up in Aushadhi Park and waiting to release his original music. In addition to this, he is also working with the versatile director Saumitra Singh on multiple projects including “Kalabai” from Byculla, Aakhri Panna, and Taxi. Apart from this, there are a few projects lined up with Nakash Aziz and Shahid Mallya.

Stay tuned!