VISHAL MISHRA ON 'PEHLE BHI MAIN', NEW MUSIC AND WORKING WITH ATIF ASLAM

ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S LEADING HITMAKERS RIGHT NOW, MISHRA SAYS HE'D SIMPLY LIKE TO BE KNOWN AS A MUSICIAN INSTEAD OF SINGER, COMPOSER OR ANY SPECIFIC COMBINATION

- Anurag Tagat

It was in 2016 that Vishal Mishra made his singing debut on “Shaam O Seher,” off the Lalit Pandit-composed soundtrack for a l itt le-known Bollywood movie called Shorgul. In the initial years, however, Mishra was known more as a composer and a producer before he blossomed fully as the emotive voice that led songs like “Kaise Hua” from Kabir Singh.

Apart from being prolific in the movie soundtrack space, Mishra is often the voice behind tearjerker heartbreak songs as a solo artist, creating songs like “Aaj Bhi,” “Kya Kar Diya” and “Woh Chaand Kahan Se Laogi,” among others. “Naacho Naacho” from the movie RRR – the Hindi version of the Oscar-winning Telugu song “Naatu Naatu” – was also sung by Mishra with composer M.M. Keeravani. The end of 2023 and start of 2024 saw “Door Aa Gaye” featuring rapper Dino James and “Ek Mulaqaat,” with composer duo Javed-Mohsin, co-singer Shreya Ghoshal and lyricist Rashmi Virag.

In an interview with Rolling Stone India, Mishra talks about his journey in the Indian music industry so far, working with the likes of Atif Aslam for songs like “Jaane De” and working on “Pehle Bhi Main” from the movie Animal. Excerpts:

Rolling Stone India: Your first break in the Indian film music industry was more as a composer, is that correct to say? But all along, I’m guessing you always wanted to be known as both, a singer and composer?