For a man in his 20s, singer-composer Vishal Mishra has remarkable clarity on what he wants from his music career. He is a natural with music, wasn’t trained in any form, can play about 17 instruments and listens to hundreds of songs across various genres each day. Giving more joy of late has been his single ‘Pyar Ho’ from Munna Michael (which he composed and sang along with Sunidhi Chauhan), clocking over five million views across streaming sites. Having also worked in Telugu, Tamil and Marathi languages in films like Devi, Abhinetri, Friendship Unlimited (Vishal Mishra and actor Salman Khan have sung for the remixed version of ‘Panchi Banoo’ from ‘Chori Chori’ in the film) , the composer feels assured that he’s here to stay.
Vishal is happy to have worked with the likes of Meet Bros, Tanishk Bagchi, Sajid-Wajid in albums that demanded more than one composer, but is most at home when he’s the only guy in charge of a score. “I admit the soundscape is unique when I work with different composers, I enjoy the solo job more. It works both ways,” he adds. Writing and singing numbers in childhood is something he did out of need-he couldn’t afford one for concerts. “Composing is in my heart- I happened to understand ragas, western classical form naturally. When you are too learned, you’re stuck. Being a good listener is where things started for me.” He remembers how his Banjara Hills friend made him watch and listen to sings from films like Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam, Baava and Boys .
Having found fame with the TV show Bharat Ki Shaan – Singing Star , television has played an integral part in making him what he is now. “It taught me to believe in myself, gave me a reason to be confident.” He studied to be a lawyer before he changed ways. Music industry has persistently tried him to slot into a zone, “But it’s the power to say a no that has helped me. When you attach so much emotion to what you do, it’s important to stay true to your abilities.”
He plans to work on an independent album soon to experience music that’s not bound by a situation, script or a plot. Yet that doesn’t take away his joy of working in films-that makes him go beyond boundaries and he calls it a soul satisfying process. Look at his enthusiasm when he says, “I feel blessed to be working in an era full of opportunities. The language isn’t an issue. I want to do everything in the world-from learning new languages, new musical forms, meet musicians.” That he knows very little in music makes him feel grounded and challenges him to explore more.
“It would have been interesting to live at a time where there were CDs, cassettes-the feeling for a listener and a composer then was more personal. Yet the digital medium gives you a reach like no other-every one has a music channel these days.” The challenge remains to insulate oneself from mediocrity, he says. “A self check about what you’re doing always helps.” It doesn’t matter if he’s asked to sing, compose or even assist a mainstream composer, what matters to him is how much he gets to learn from an opportunity.
