I know the pulse of the audience: Abhijeet

Ahead of his performance in Pune for the Times of India’s 175th anniversary celebrations, Abhijeet Bhattacharya promises to rock the city, with his melodious voice
I am obsessed with the Times of India. Not a single day goes by without reading the entire newspaper,” shared singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya, as he spoke to us ahead of his performance in Pune. To celebrate the Times of India turning 175 years, Abhijeet is all set to rock the city and treat the audiences to an evening of melodies.Excerpts:
You said you read every page in the Times of India. What is it that keeps you engrossed?
I was born and brought up in Kanpur and started reading the paper since then. We never got the paper in Kanpur. So I used to request relatives, coming from Delhi or another city, to bring the paper when they came to my town. Till date, I make it a point to read the entire edition. Be it news, financial or even the imprint line, I read everything. For me it’s about building my knowledge. If there is a news story in the paper and someone tells me it’s not true, I will still go by what the paper says. I have blind faith in the Times of India.
How does it feel to perform in Pune?
I have never had a concert in Pune in the recent past. Though I haven’t performed here in ages, I am still 50% Puneite, as my family keeps visiting the city. As far as my performance is concerned, I will make sure the performance is appealing.
Your USP has always been your melodious voice, what’s in store for the Pune audience?
I know the pulse of the audience and believe that if you are a singer, you should enjoy a song. Aaj kal gaane se zyada, singers acting karte hai. You need to understand, people come to listen to you, and not see you act like a star. I was born a stage performer, so you will see me as a totally different person on stage. There is an array of melodious songs I shall present in my performance. Some will also be from my non-film albums and some Kishoreda songs.
So do you oblige your fans when they ask you to perform on your popular numbers?
I like teasing them. Fans keep asking me for all time favourites like Dhadkan, Main Hoon Naa and the likes, but I end up singing another song, just to tease them. But later I make up for it. Some of my popular numbers are Roshini se bhare bhare and Aur kya and it feels great when people ask me to sing these songs. Some songs like Ole Ole are evergreen. Kabhie lagta hai ki mein umar se pehle hi legend ban jaunga.
After Dil ka jo haal hai from Besharam, do we get to hear you sing any moreBollywood tracks? Currently, I am working on my non-film albums. As far as playback singing is concerned, I don’t talk much about that, since I don’t keep track of it. I let the public talk about it when it releases. In today’s times, 25 singers sing one song for a film. It’s really sad that none of them know whose version will be selected. I feel truly blessed.
Abhijeet Bhattacharya will perform at Shaniwarwada on December 12 at 7 pm. Passes are available at the Times of India office, FC Road, on first come first serve basis.