Aaman Trikha “I Did Not Get Success On A Silver Platter But Had To Struggle A Lot”

A versatile playback singer with a mellifluous and soothing voice, Aaman Trikha tells JYOTHI VENKATESH that he wants to move away from the peppy zone and sing romantic songs too to prove his versatility as a singer.

Can you tell us about your popular music video Mobile?
It was a music video directed by Ravi Bhatia of Studio Max and produced by Yogendra Nagda. I had sung a peppy number along with Ritu Pathak. It was a youth-oriented music video which drove home the message that the mobile phone has today become the platform to express love among the youth. The video starred Tara Shukla and Sagar Khan and had been choreographed by Sonu Baba.

When was your first video released?
My first ever music video Mahiya Tu Hi Tu was released in 2014 by Crescendo Music/ Universal Music.

When did feel you had the talent to be a singer?
I started playing keyboards on my own since childhood without any formal training. In 2008, I graduated as an Electronics & Telecommunication engineer from Thakur College of Engineering and Technology (TCET), Mumbai. In 2005, while I was studying in the first year of Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) in Electronics & Telecommunication, I discovered that I could sing too.

You tasted stardom instantly with the peppy number Go Go Govinda in OMG – Oh My God. Did you have to struggle to reach the top?
Looking at my record as a playback singer, people may feel that I got success on a silver platter and did not have to struggle at all. I’d say that it is tough to get a break as a singer, but more tough to get the song to release, because many times the scratch that a singer makes, does not get included in the film. Till your song is locked in your own voice for a film, you have to struggle a lot.

What role has Himesh Reshammiya played in making you a sought-after voice today in films?
I feel extremely lucky and blessed to have been a part of the India team in ‘Sur Kshetra’ as I met the director of the show, Mr. Gajendra Singh and Himesh sir who recorded my hit songs like Go Go Govinda, Po Po, Khiladi Bhaiya, Hookah Bar, even before the end of the show.

How many songs do you have to your credit? Which are your five best songs till date?
Till date, I am glad that in a short period of just seven years, I have sung as many as 60 songs. Out of them, I’d definitely say that my five best are Go Go Govinda (OMG –Oh MY God), Prem Leela (Prem Ratan Dhan Payo), Hum Tumhe Kaise Bataye ( Ekkees Toponki Salaami), Dil Mein Kayi Armaan Bikhre Huwe Hain (Yeh Hai Judgment Hanged Till Death) and Hookah Bar (Khiladi 786). Go Go Govinda, Hookah Bar and Prem Leela, were composed by Himesh Reshammiya who had given me my big break, Hum Tumhe Kaise Bataye was composed by Ram Sampath and Dil Mein Kayi Armaan composed by Mahesh- Rakesh. The song Butterfly in Jab Harry Met Sejal is also close to
my heart, besides Saiyyan from the film Ek Tera Saath

You have sung in various languages and genres. Comment.
Yes, I have sung in many styles and languages like English, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Gujarati, Marathi, Bangla, Oriya, Haryaanvi, Jhaarkhandi and many more. The most difficult language to sing in is in Tamil and Telugu.

Where did you get trained in music?
Though I was trained by Ustad Maqbool Hussain Khan Saab of Rampur Sahaswan Gharana, even today I am conditioned to feel that every song that I sing is absolutely new to me. Every new song is a new world to me. When a composer sings his composition to me before I sing it, I try to unlearn whatever I had learnt in the past, because I do not carry the baggage or hangover of my previous hits when I sing a new song. Every song is a journey by itself for me.

Who are your favourite playback singers?
I have grown up listening from my childhood to songs of all-time greats like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Sonu Nigam, KK and Roop Kumar Rathod. I’d say that even if a person can just imbibe 30% of their talent, he or she can end up as a talented singer

Who among the new breed of singers do you think is a big threat to you?
I would not say that he or she is a threat, but I’d say that Arijit Singh is doing a very good job for himself. Arijit is a composer’s singer and not just THE SINGER.

What is your approach towards singing?
As a playback singer, I do not want to undo the elements of the composer and sing a song in my own way. Before I sing a new composition, I’d like to make it a point to listen to it and only then set out to sing it. I try to understand the nuances and the ‘feel’ of the song and then get into the skin of the song. It has always been my attempt to prove my versatility by moving away from the peppy zone and sing various kinds of songs, including romantic as well as serious and soulful and soothing ghazals.

Any actor for whom you are keen to sing as a playback singer for?
I have sung for Aamir Khan in his popular show Satyamev Jayate, but I am also greedy enough to want to sing for Aamir Khan in a film and for Ranveer Singh. I have already sung for Shah Rukh Khan in Jab Harry Met Sejal. The list is endless.

What next?
On the anvil for release are J.P. Dutta’s next film which has been designed to launch his and Bindiya’s daughter Nidhi Dutta with Shameer Tandon as the music director. I am keeping my fingers crossed for the release of the film.