Music is in his blood

After making the audience tap their feet with 'Badtameez Dil', singer Benny Dayal had come to town to woo his audience and judge the Ascendas Voice 2013 held at ITPL, Whitefield. The energetic performanc that he gave with his band, Funktuation, singing smash hits like 'Nadan Parindey', 'Sadda Haq' and AR Rahman's timeless hit, 'Dil Se', kept the crowd on their feet, shouting and dancing to his tunes.

According to him, his association with Bengaluru has always been a pleasant one, and that was evident at his performance. He mesmerised the IT professionals with his spirited singing and impromptu dance steps on stage. He has performed in fests of several colleges in Bengaluru, such as RV College of Engineering and Acharya Institute of Technology. He has also worked with Kannada music director, Joshua Sridhar, singing for him in three films, which resulted in beautiful songs like 'Gundetu Gundetu' and 'Illeana'.

“I love singing in Bengaluru. Joshua is one of my coolest friends and I love working with him. He is one of the best musicians I have worked with in my career," says Benny.

'Kaise Mujhe', 'Aadat Se Majboor' and 'Vacancy' with composers such as Vishal-Shekhar and AR Rahman, saw him climb up the ladder of popularity. 'Pappu Can't Dance' was his break through hit.

“I would say that I owe my career these composers. I adapt to each of their composing styles and how they approach each song. I was the eleventh singer to be approached for 'Pappu Can't Dance'. When you work with AR Rahman you don't know when the right way to sing a song comes out. When the song came out right, I was surprised myself and the rest is history," says an excited Benny.

Originally from Kerala, Benny has sung in so many languages, it's difficult to count! The year 2013 saw him experiment with Bengali singing as well.

“It is all about the sound. I don't try to complicate things by thinking about the language I am singing in. The music and the language of its lyrics is nothing but sound with a tune to it. When you understand the tune, everything else comes naturally," says a reflective Benny.

Music, his passion since childhood, is also one of the reasons why he pursued a journalism diploma. “I loved to write about music. Actually, I think everything that I have done in life has led to my music," says Benny. He has acted in the Malayalam movie, 'By The People', which made him realise that he “was not made for it."