Had I not belonged to a Bengali family, music wouldn’t have happened to me

Ash King doesn’t wear his stardom on his sleeve yet. Sporting a monochrome T-shirt with spiked hair and a boy-next-door charm, the rockstar greeted us with a broad smile at a city cafeteria. “I am yet to see the fame that can take humility away from me. That’s the reason I am not arrogant,” he replied to our query with a chuckle. He’s good at tickling your funny bone too. As he walked around in New Town for a photoshoot, he quipped, “I’m sure people here are thinking, ‘Who is this Russell Peters with a beard?’ The good thing about my face is that I look like many people.” In a candid chat with CT, the singer revealed more about himself. He talked about his stardom, Bangaliana and his plans to create Bengali music. Excerpts:
How did Ashutosh Ganguly become Ash King?
I was born and brought up in Southall in London. While the city is a mix of different cultures, the rest of the country is still very English, especially when it comes to names. Ashutosh is a tad difficult for them. My friends started calling me Ash. That went on for a while, but just Ash wasn’t happening enough (laughs). Just to make it more catchy, I became Ash King and since then the name got stuck with me.
You are half Bengali. Do you have any Bangaliana left in you?
(Rolls his eyes) Of course. I don’t have my own house in Mumbai but my family has a big property here in Tollygunge. Do you know BL Ganguly Lane, next to Bhavani cinema? That road is named after my grandfather, who was a freedom fighter. We have a family property there in a neighbourhood called Bangal Para. Bengal is the reason I became a singer. Many of my family members are singers. Not all of them are trained though. Emni barite ganbajna hoto. That helped me a lot. I am, however, the only one who is making a living out of music. Had I not belonged to a Bengali family, music wouldn’t have happened to me.
So are you fluent in Bengali?
My father is a Bengali and my mother a Gujarati. Besides English, I used to speak in Bengali with my dad and in Gujarati with my mom. My dad passed away but back then all three of us could understand English, Bengali and Gujarati. The real test was when we used to visit our grandparents. That was the time we used to avoid English (laughs).
You started your journey as a gospel singer…
I sang gospel songs, yes. That is the time when I wanted to gain experience and learn music. I learnt a lot during this period — harmony, tone changing and so on.
And today you are one of the most sought-after singers in Bollywood. How was the journey?
Oh am I? That sounds great (laughs). On a serious note, I think the journey is still on. It hasn’t ended. The only mantra is that you have to be positive. See, a lot of this industry is about damage control. You make mistakes — we all do. And there are people who will pounce on you for each mistake you make. You have to be positive with such things. Otherwise, you will lose it. This is a profession that keeps you in the public eye. They say, be yourself. But being watched is not that easy, you know. It is because we all are like packaged goods. So from dressing up to sitting for an interview — we have to perfect everything. And for this, you have to be positive, extremely positive.
Besides AR Rahman, Pritam and other big names in Bollywood, you have done a lot of international music projects too. You have also delivered many hits in the Bengali film industry. How do you see these diverse musical communities?
I think the Indian crowd enjoys our pop music — Bollywood — more than people in the west enjoy their pop music. And this is coming from someone who has lived abroad and toured India. I want the grandeur of western rock concerts in our concerts. I’ll give you an example. If you go to an Ed Sheeran concert you will see there are huge LED screens playing the right kind of video. The grandeur is outstanding. Why can’t our shows look like that? It’s not about money. We have the budget nowadays. We have the stadiums and we have the crowd. With my show, Ash King Live, I want to bring that in. I spend a lot of money on the equipment because I want to give good sound to my audience. I want to bring that international experience to Bollywood. I know everybody will follow suit. But I want to do it for myself. When I first came to Bollywood with AR Rahman’s Dil gira dafatan of Delhi 6, no one had heard a voice like that. And I didn’t have to look back. I want to do something big like that with my live shows too.
You have worked with many Bengali music directors as well. What’s next?
I worked with Shantanu Moitra, Arindom Chatterjee, Indraadipda (Dasgupta) and Savvy. I’ve been working on Bengali independent music. I want to do Bengali singles and I want Prasenda to write my songs. I love his writings. He is a friend. But he never writes for me. If there is one person I want to work with now, it would be him. I sang a song Dekhte bou bou, which Prasenda wrote. One line goes like, Nijeke kibhabe Victoria korajaye, para jaye bolo ki koria, and oh man, I love it. How did he do it? How did he put Victoria in that line? It is fascinating. He can write my experiences in the songs like a story (laughs). And that’s the kind of songs people like. Or they will just listen to hit songs.
Do you have a girlfriend?
Nah! Every time I get to know a girl, sadly it doesn’t work out. It is largely because I am either very serious or not serious at all. I can’t fool around. I would love to get married and have kids. But at the same time, I wouldn’t do it just for the sake of doing it. I would do it because I am in love with that girl. And since I am very serious about these things, I need to find the absolute right girl with whom I can spend my entire life.