I never thought singing would be my career: Ash King

Ash King tells us how life has changed after he sang Meherbaan, and what it taught him.
Before Meherbaan, his latest hit in Bang Bang happened, Ash King tells us that no one knew about him, not even after singing I Love You (Bodyguard), Dil Gira Dafatan (Delhi 6), Te Amo (Dum Maaro Dum) or Aunty Ji (Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu). The half-Bengali half-Gujarati (his father, music composer Shankar Ganguly, is Bengali) belongs to London but shifted base to Mumbai a year back.Excerpts from a chat.
Explain the soundscape of Meherbaan.
After recording the songs above, I went back to England. I got an unexpected message from VishalDadlani (of composer duo Vishal-Shekhar) on a social networking site, asking if I could record a song for him. I recorded it, but I thought I had failed, and left. The next day, he called me saying he wanted to record it again. He explained that Meherbaan was about two lovers in the Mediterranean region, and that Hrithik (Roshan) and Katrina (Kaif) would be in the film. When I sang it, I sang it in a very personal way, like I am singing a song to a person and not to an audience. I did, and then the film got postponed. I worried that they might replace my voice, but they didn’t! It’s great that they chose me to sing Meherbaan. Even HrithikRoshan recently mentioned it on social media.
READ: Bang Bang: Hrithik Roshan woos Katrina Kaif in 'Meherbaan'
Do you plan to make India home or go back to London?
I don’t miss London now. I am much more relaxed in Mumbai. I just went to Gujarat recently and it reminded me of my Gujarati culture. Singing Pankhida Re Udi Jao at a dandiya in Rajkot was great fun. People here have this glamorous image of Indians living in London, but it is a bigger struggle there. I never thought my music would bring me money. I worked as a waiter in a burger restaurant, as a salesman in a computer store, even at the airport. After my father died, we faced tough times. But my mother, whose forefathers belong to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s family, has been a pillar of strength for me.
Is it true that Arijit Singh played an important role in your career?
When I met Arijit in London through a mutual friend, he wasn’t a star singer yet. I knew he’d be big some day. When I came back (to Kolkata) in 2010, Arijit invited me to Mumbai and recommended me to Pritam for I Love You and Te Amo. He has been a great motivating force. Is it true that you weren’t serious about a career in singing? Yes. I haven’t learnt music although my grandfather composed music with Rabindranath Tagore at Santiniketan and my father was a singer and music composer. I grew up playing dhol and dholak, but never thought singing would be my career. Even after I Love You got noticed, I didn’t have proper guidance on how to go about my career in playback.
You were born Ashutosh Ganguly. Why did you add King to your name?
My name couldn’t fit in one line on the CD cover! Having a nickname like King works, sometimes. You were also featured on Lady Gaga’s remix of Just Dance. I was in Germany at that time, and Lady Gaga was just getting popular. Just for fun, a friend and I mixed her first hit song Just Dance. Our remix reached her manager, and the next thing we know, she put it on her CD. I didn’t ask for any money for it, because my manager at that time had already duped me of a lot of money. Just the fact that Lady Gaga put my remix on her album was good for me. I want to make a living from my live shows only. Music composers pay us money, but sometimes I feel that we are existing only because they give us such beautiful songs to sing. They are enhancing our career, so why should they pay us for that? Future plans? My ultimate plan is to have a body of work that will represent me. Before Meherbaan, I used to be in despair when people asked me: ‘What next?’ But I’ve realised that promotion of your work is important.
WATCH: Bang Bang Meherbaan Video