Vishal Mishra on ‘Pehle Bhi Main’, New Music and Working with Atif Aslam

It was in 2016 that Vishal Mishra made his singing debut on “Shaam O Seher,” off the Lalit Pandit-composed soundtrack for a little-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? 

Vishal Mishra: Yes, you can say that my first break was as a composer in the industry. But officially if you see, I sang for a film called Shorgul, I sang the song [“Shaam O Seher”] for Lalit Pandit ji who I used to assist back in the day. Officially, that was my first break.

I always wanted to make music. I have always seen music as emotions that I can see and feel and when I mix that feeling with my own experience and expression, I think it becomes individual. That gives me the most surreal feeling that an individual can achieve. I hope and pray that every artist gets that feeling.

My first love will always be creating music because my voice is a tool that I use to express it. So they are interconnected in a way. I think I would love to be known as a musician rather than one category of the job like I shouldn’t be known just as a music director or a composer or a singer. I have a problem with that, because I feel we describe a musician too much. It should just be a musician, I guess.

One of the combos that really worked well was with Atif Aslam, like “Jaane De” and “Selfish”. How do you look back on those projects and working with him? Are you still in touch? 

Oh yes, me and Atif, we talk sometimes. We wish really good to each other and we are really fond of each other. I’m fond of his art and for him as an individual. And he’s fond of me as an individual and my art and we have a ton of love and respect for each other. ‘Jaane De’ is one of those songs – he sang for me one or two other times also, like in Race – that’s very special to me. That’s the only song I did with Irrfan saab [Khan, actor, for the Bollywood movie Qarib Qarib Singlle in 2017]

Me and the writer Raj Shekhar were very close to him [Irrfan] and he had a very integral part to play while we were creating the song and he was really involved. We wanted to make a song that is for people to heal. That has always been my intention to add on to somebody’s journey. If I can heal, if people get healed by a piece of music that I make, I think it’s the most beautiful feeling. I think ‘Jaane De’ is that healer. That one with Atif will always be very special.

Some of your solo pop releases often have heartbreak and this emotional intensity. Do you feel you are like that as a person as well? 

I think it’s about being honest to what you feel at that point of time, when I make independent songs that are free from the film world. I try and write what I’m feeling at that point of time, whoever I meet, people have a huge impact on me and I come from a certain background, which is, which I feel is, is right there at the core. I just saw this. I grew up on this kind of music and people were just those who needed music as a companion.

Sometimes, when I’m making pop songs, I want to make songs that feel like a companion. What do you need a companion for? To say your heart out. So I just say things that I feel people are feeling and I am feeling and I mix it with my experience.

To ask a larger question, why is it that you feel you write sadder, sometimes angsty love songs the best? 

I feel it’s the most beautiful emotion to love. I’m full of love, so that’s why I’m writing songs about how love works, how the journey of love is; You start with a lot of happiness and suddenly, I feel all promises come to an end. I write about that.

So if you look at the songs I’ve released, I talk about the whole spectrum – I’ll make a song like ‘Sajna Ve’ [with Lisa Mishra] but also ‘Manjha.’ I’ll also make a song like ‘Aaj Bhi’ as well as ‘Tu Bhi Sataya Jayega.’

Even film music, it’s about what I feel it will resonate and how I’m producing the song and how inspired I am by the script and by the director. I hope that whatever I’m writing people are liking. [laughs]

You worked on “Door Aa Gaye” with Dino James. What was that experience like and are there more Indian hip-hop artists you want to work with? 

See, I don’t define music by genres and I don’t think that there are any boundaries to any kind of collaboration, for that matter. ‘Door Aa Gaye’ was an idea I had. I really connect with Dino, because I feel we are similar in the way we have… our backgrounds and the way we conduct our lives. We connected on that note.

This beat was there with me. I wanted to write a hip-hop… it’s not actually hip-hop, but more hip-pop. I wanted to write a song which is on a hip-hop beat. I have this side too, that’s why I think I’ll name my album coming soon on these lines only!

I started cyphering the chorus on this beat and Dino heard the beat and we connected. In the future also [I would collaborate with different artists]. Naam hi sangeet hai, sang mein hone wala geet (In the name sangeet, there is music that is made in unison), if you break it down. That is what keeps you growing musically, You have to have people who can put in their elements and make your energy bigger and better. I’m looking forward to collaborating with everybody out there.

One of your biggest projects in 2023 was “Pehle Bhi Main” from Animal. How was it working on that?

Although so many of my songs have released in 2023, but Animal is special for how the film is doing and how people are loving the music. There’s a nostalgic element too, because I worked with [director] Sandeep Reddy Vanga after making ‘Kaise Hua’ and ‘Pehla Pyaar’ in Kabir Singh, I think there is an energy we share that is unlike any other. Every time we have friction of creativity, I think it always translates into something unorthodox and beautiful.

What else is coming up through 2024? 

2024 is a massive, massive year. I have so many different kinds of music coming out. I have ‘Aaj Bhi 2’ coming out. I have a lot of films coming out, I don’t know if I can take names or not. This time I have a lot of solo albums coming out that I own completely musically and feeling that responsibility and I’m feeling that energy. I’m looking forward to concentrate more on music, learn more, add more to people’s journey and it’s going to be a super exciting year.