“I would love to compose music for a Bollywood film” – Kunal Chaudhry

When you visit the Instagram profile of Kunal Chaudhry, the one thing you realize is that his life revolves around music. The singer-songwriter has been making music and performing for several years now Apart from releasing original music independently, Kunal also uploads cover versions of popular Hindi film songs on Instagram.

In this interview, the Lucknow-born musician talks about his journey as an artist, working in the independent music space, love for ghazals, doing the music for a Hindi film, plans for this year and more.

In your Instagram bio, one can see the names of five cities, Lucknow, Delhi, Jaipur, Gurgaon and Mumbai, being mentioned. Do you shuffle between these five cities?

Lucknow is my hometown. Twice a year, I make it a point to visit it. I primarily shuffle between Lucknow and Mumbai. I had lived in Jaipur and Gurgaon for some time while pursuing higher education. I shifted to Mumbai in the year 2011.

You have stated that you aim to bring a positive change in the society as an artist. Through your music, you have said, you want to spread the message of hope and inner peace.

The first song I released was called ‘Yeh Raat’. It was about me struggling to get into the independent music scene. At that point in time, I was doing commercial gigs. It was not something which gave me a lot of satisfaction as an artist. That is when I thought of making music independently. Back in the day, doing that was quite difficult. Now, of course, things have changed. With more artists coming in the indie scene, like Prateek Kuhad and Raahgir, people are feeling motivated to make more music. I try to make the kind of music that can bring some peace, joy and positivity in people’s lives.

While growing up in Lucknow, did you undergo any training in music?

My father, Surendra Kumar Chaudhry, was an incredible singer. He passed away in the year 2000 when I was still in school. He had a full-time job with the LIC and was very passionate about music. He used to sing a lot. At our home in Lucknow, he would often jam with renowned ghazal singers. Professional musicians would visit our home all the time. There was a robust musical environment at home. After his demise, I got interested in music. I started learning the guitar when I was in the ninth standard.

Who were some of the artists you were inspired by when you started getting interested in music?

As a child, I used to listen to a lot of Mohd. Rafi and Kishore Kumar. My brother introduced me to The Beatles. He was into rock and pop. There was mixed influence of Hindustani and western music. Later, when I started playing the guitar, I experimented with other genres like jazz, country and folk. I have always been hugely fascinated by ghazals.

Apart from working as a solo artist, you also perform with Ankit Bareja as a duo.

I met Ankit at an open mic. He happened to be from Lucknow, my hometown. We connected very well as were from the same city and doing similar kind of music. We thought of doing a ticketed event called Nawabi Rhapsody. Lucknow, of course, served as the inspiration for this name.