Singer-songwriter Ankur Tewari: 'I never work to beat competition'

Music composer and singer Ankur Tewari has come a long way with an impressive musical repertoire of his own. He has consciously created music that is lyrically rich and allows one to feel an array of emotions with each song. As an independent artist since 1998, Tewari made his official debut in 2008 with a music album, Jannat followed by a children's double album Side A and Side B.

Apart from independent music, Tewari has written lyrics for several films including Gully Boy, Guilty, and Yeh Ballet among others. For Gully Boy, Tewari received the coveted Filmfare award for best lyrics. Some of his other hits are the title track of Deepika Padukone, Ananya Panday and Siddhant Chaturvedi starrer Gehraiyaan, and the most recent Dil Beparvah.

Tune into Gehraiyaan to feel Ankur Tewari's soulful lyrics

The musician recently collaborated with Ballantine’s Glassware's new platform (IP)- True Music, a platform that empowers young and emerging artists across progressive music genres of India. Tewari also performed at the newly opened Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in BKC. Clearly, he is on the receiving end of success in all forms but he stays unfazed. “I don't take any pressure for that. I've never really tried to work in my field to beat any competition. It's what I do, and I get really excited doing it and it kind of thrills me to do it, so I do it,” says Tewari.

Credited with conceptualising Coke Studio Bharat, Tewari is a firm believer in promoting good music. When asked if contemporary songs are losing the charm like the lyrics before, he says people need to experiment more. “Words should connect with the heart and people should be brave enough to write outside the format that everyone is kind of trying to follow formulas. It will be exciting to see if people can break that and write freely and express exciting new ideas,” hopes the music artist.

Get impressed with the artist's voice and pennings; listen Dil Beparvah

Clearly, the musician knows how to connect the chord with his listeners, for his work of art comes from a lot of pondering over his thoughts. “There have been times when I've been pondering over a thought, and I've woken up in the middle of the night and scribbled something and gone to sleep again just to find out what it was in the morning. And sometimes what you end up scribbling down in the night is quite pathetic, but sometimes it's quite exciting,” confesses the musician.

Unlike many of his parallel musicians who have been constantly fetching for one or the other milestone, Tewari is more focused on working on what's on his mind. “I don't really think about achievements much. I'm quite busy working on what I'm brewing in my mind,” he says. Tewari also has some priceless nuggets of wisdom for aspiring musicians. “Listen to everyone, but only follow what's in your heart and what your heart is saying. And be honest about why you're doing what you're doing,” he concludes.