'I sang Kala Chashma more than 20 years ago. I was not paid for it; I was a new and young singer then.'
'It is a big thing for me that my song has been used in a Hindi film. This is my first song that has been used in a Bollywood film.'
Meet Kala Chashma singer Amar Arshi.
The Kala Chashma song in the Katrina Kaif-Sidharth Malhotra starrer Baar Baar Dekho has become a rage but do you know that the song’s original singer didn’t even know it was used on these hot stars?
Amar Arshi, 43, is a simple singer from Jalandhar, Punjab, who makes a living singing in the town fairs.
He wasn’t even paid when he first sang the song in the late 1980s.
Patcy N/ Rediff.com managed to trace the singer, and find out more about him.
I sang Kala Chashma more than 20 years ago. It was popular even back then.
I just did vocals and someone from England took my vocals, and added the music to it. They made records and music cassettes of it.
I was not paid for it; I was a new and young singer then.
About a year ago, I made a new recording of the song. An agency in Punjab called Angel bought the rights of the song for Rs 1,01,000. They were in talks with some music director.
I was told that it might be used in a Hindi film and a small part of it will also be used for an advertisement.
I did not know Kala Chashma would be picturised on Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra. I saw the video after you told me about it. I was singing in a show at a mela, and as soon as I reached home in the evening, I saw the video and the song.
It looks very nice. It is a big thing for me that my song has been used in a Hindi film. This is my first song that has been used in a Bollywood film.
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'My parents did not want me to sing'
I come from a poor family in Jalandhar. We are five brothers. I am the youngest, and the most pampered in the family.
After Std 8, I quit school. I wanted to be a singer but my parents were against it. Because I left school so early, I don’t know English. That’s my only regret in life.
Two of my brothers supported my singing career.
I went to Amar Singh Chamkila, a popular Punjabi singer. I told him I wanted to be a singer and I wanted him to teach me.
I was just 13, so he told me to come with my parents, with proper permission. But my parents did not want me to sing. I went twice after that, but he still would not take me. Then I went with a friend who knew him and he allowed me to be in his group.
He trained me in singing and occasionally allowed me to play the ghada (earthen pot). He allowed me to sing in public, but rarely.
Three-and-a-half years later, in 1988, he was killed by terrorists along with his family and band members. My music lessons stopped.
By then I could sing well so at the age of 16, I recorded a couple of songs for an audio cassette company. The songs became popular and I started getting offers to sing.
I wasn’t earning any money from singing; I was very new in the profession.
One of my friends would make me sing, take the recording to England and a music company there would release the song. He never paid me. I did the songs for friendship’s sake and because he told me he didn’t earn any money from it either.
Then in 1990, I was invited by a group in England to sing for a live show. That’s when I realised that my songs were very popular in England.
I was very naïve and never demanded money. But now I realised I should start charging people.
Once I started earning, my parents were happy.
Now I go abroad to sing in England, Canada, Holland, Australia, Dubai...
I have been to Mumbai just once, to sing at a live show in a hotel many years ago.
I have sung songs with Dr Zeus, Aman Hayer, RDB band, Bally Jagpal and his brother Bhota Jagpal of the band B21.
Besides Kala Chasma, my popular numbers are Pehli Mulakat, Rangli Kothi, and Sajna De Nal.
