This Mumbai boy started his Bollywood singing career at the age of 28, and ever since then, every song that he produced has been a major hit. Nikhil D’souza, who is known for his famous hits in the movies like Anjana Anjani and Golmaal Again gets into a conversation with us about his musical journey in Bollywood and sheds a little dirt on things that we may not have heard about him before.
Even though Bollywood enabled D’Souza to make a living, his long-term goal was to get his own original songs out there. But, ever since his break, he has won the televised South-Asian talent contest SUTASI and subsequently played at the nation’s top festivals including the NH7 Weekender. Nikhil even represented India by claiming second place at the Crimea Music Festival, which earned him a significant fan base in Ukraine and Russia.
Talking about the Bollywood music industry, he says, “I’m thankful to the Bollywood industry. Singing in films has been the avenue that kept me afloat financially and enabled me to go out there and explore my independent music too. I’ve been lucky to have worked with music directors who understand my strong points (my voice texture) and my limitations (my lack of classical training.) As a Bollywood singer, you will always have times when everyone loves you and they’re singing your songs and then there are times when it seems like people have forgotten you exist.”
Oblivion is something Nikhil fears but he believes his songs come from an honest place and the feelings put into it are real. “I write songs about the things that have affected me the most on an emotional level — could be love, a certain situation or a view of the world. In the end, for me, melodies are also very important and I make sure I’m enjoying singing these songs on stage or in the studio,” he says.
Over the past six months, he has had two singles released and a few more to come before he releases his album this year. Nikhil also looks forward to next month where he will be playing in three festivals in the UK and also his performance at the Quarter, Mumbai on April 25. Nikhil shares a little fun fact about his last gig at The Omeara in London — he says the venue was owned by one of the guys from Mumford and sons. Fascinating, right?
When not singing or on a tour, Nikhil loves his evening run around where he lives in Versova. He also loves baking. He says, “I think I might be getting addicted to those evening runs. There was a time a couple of years ago when I was obsessed with baking bread. Who knew that it would return one day,” he says.
