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| UPCOMING CONCERTS |
| Date |
Location |
| 21-October-2011 |
Dharan, Bagarkot Mahotsawa |
| 12 to 15 -Jan-2012 |
Brunai |
| 17-November-2011 |
United Kingdom , London @ Miss UK Nepal |
| 6 to 9- November-2011 |
Saudi Arab |
| 28-October-2011 |
United Kingdom , London |
| 30-Sep-2011 |
Hotel Asia Asia,Maliya,Kuwait City, Kuwait |
| 11-Sep-2011 |
South Korea,Dcube Art Center(Sindorim} |
| 30-July-2011 |
Gachiya Field, Sunsari |
| 05 - Baisakha- 2068 |
Gulmi Mahotsawa, Gulmi |
| 15 - May-2011 |
Hongkong |
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| Interview with Rajesh
Payal Rai |
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| Rajesh Payal Rai, one of the
busiest and most popular playback singers in the industry today
with over 700 songs for Nepali films already under his belt,
is considered to possess amazing vocal capabilities. His first
recorded song 'Samjhana Ko Kura Nagara' on Radio Nepal to the
lyrics by J.G. Rai and composed by Shakti Shrestha and then
there has been no stopping this popular singer. However, the
first song that gave birth to his meteoric career was 'Failiyo
Maya Dubo Sari' which was composed by musician Shila Bahadur
Moktan and written by Tri Bikram Pandey. He has numerous albums
to his credit. His first album ‘Murchana’ was released in the
year 2052 BS, followed by ‘Purba Ma Rang Chadecha’ in 2053 BS,
‘Just For You’ in 2054 BS, ‘Love Letter’ in 2055 BS, ‘Baiguni
Raichau Mayalu’ in 2056 BS, ‘Nigaha’ in 2058 BS, ‘Jadau’ in
2061 BS, ‘Kamana’ in 2063 BS and ‘Jadau 2’ has just been released.
Him, seriously being ill not long ago was a matter of great
concern not only for his near and dear ones and his thousands
of fans but also for the whole music industry. Thankfully he
has recovered and is now rearing to carry on doing what he does
best…making great music. Below are some of the excerpts of my
conversation with the man they sometimes lovingly also call
the ‘Kirati Raja’. Here we go on the man and his music. |
You've lost weight
considerably, how is your health now?
I'm fine now. Thank you for the concern. It's because of the
love and support that I got from all quarters that enabled me
to recover really fast. I'm on physiotherapy these days so I
have been advised to lose my weight. I have been able to bring
my weight down to 65 kgs and believe me, that takes quite a
lot of effort!
We were informed that you had a nasty stroke and was
even partially paralyzed, what actually happened?
Actually, its got to do with the thickness of my blood, so say
the doctors and hence, there was a problem of blood flowing
up to my brains. Due o this, some parts of the brain got weaker
which is not really paralysis though the doctors said that they
were symptoms of paralysis. I'm OK now and again, thanks for
the concern!
It is perceived that all this was because of your heavy
drinking habit. Is it true?
It's true and I am being honest here! More than heavy drinking
it was because of late nights on a regular basis for a long
time. I used to smoke a lot too; like 5 to 6 packets a day.
Now I've quit drinking and smoking completely. After what I
have gone through, I request everyone not to drink and smoke.
I am speaking through experience. It spoils your health and
you end up spending hell lot of money as well.
Being a heavy drinker and smoking constantly definitely takes
a toll one one’s health. However, it must have been real tough
to get over the habit. Could you tell us about how you overcame
it?
We all are aware how harmfuladdiction is and how difficult it
is to quit the habit. It was very difficult for me as well but
it all boils down to will power. I did have a tough time but
then again, I had no choice. I was a lazy person back then but
there had been occasions when I had to even record 8 songs in
a single day which is a record in itself. So, one cannot presume
that I neglected my work then. After giving up that bad habit
I've become more active and wish to work even harder. I am now
open for practically anything in life.
Is there any more bad habit that you wish to quit?
I hate kich kich! It’s something that gets on my nerves very
quickly and I sometimes feel like bashing up that person. I
want to control my anger and be at peace with myself. I am working
on it and have been rather successful so far.
How is life different now that you have quit drinking?
It's totally different. In the past I was just living for myself.
It was taking its toll on my health and I was spending a lot.
At times I wouldn't even know what I did or what I said. I would
say I was unsocial at that time. I would be ready to drink anytime
at anytime of day or night. But now, life is more peaceful and
I know what I'm talking about. My whole perspective towards
life has completely changed.
Lets now talk about your recent just concluded tour
to eastern Nepal, how was it?
It was wonderful. It was different from what I had been doing
here in Kathmandu. In regards to the crowd, at every show there
were no less than 10,000 strong people, Terhathum, Dhankuta,
Dharan everywhere. In Beldangi, a place which is near Damak
there were almost 1 lakh people. The experience performing for
such a huge crowd was simply amazing. (Click here to view the
pictures of the concert). It was a show that I shall always
remember. It was one of the best shows in my career in terms
of crowd presence. I had to stop the show in the middle because
of security reasons; it was really hard to control that huge
mass and we had a feeling some sort of chaos was inevitable.
Right here through fursad.com I wish to thank all my audience
who were present at the shows for being so kind and appreciative.
Could you tell us about your recently released album
‘Jadau 2’?
The market response of ‘Jadau Part 1’ was good. The album contained
'Purbeli Bhaka' from places like Khotang, Terhathum, Pachthar.
It also contained Hakpare and Palam. Now the different thing
with this ‘Jadau Part 2’ is, I've also incorporated 'Paschimeli
Bhaka'. It's not only me, Sunita Subba didi has lent her voice
too along with Sindhu Malla, Kavita Rai and Tara Ji. To sum
it up, the album can be categorized totally as lok album, it
contains only lok flavors.
Many say that the music industry is going through tough
times and it's on a decline. Any opinion on this?
I can't speak for others but I disagree with this. Actually,
the market is growing and artists are more busy than ever. I
agree that artists aren't getting proper royalties from their
respective sources. There is no concrete procedure regarding
royalties here in Nepal and that has been a great difficulty
for artists and a major drawback for everyone involved in the
industry. Most of the countries have a clear cut royalty management
and institution in place. There are many sources of royalties
such ring tones, but we have to go through a lot of hassle for
that and we get very less for what we've invested. There are
other sources too but it's not yet properly outlined and managed.
Few years back you also tried your hands in movies as
an actor, how was the experience?
I had done a few movies, ‘Daibasanjog’, ‘Dautari’, ‘Pare Ni
Mayajalaima’ in some character roles before I did 'Gundaraaj'
as a full fledged actor. It was definitely a different experience
because I had to go through action and cut sequences and all
those dialogues, all those camera angles and crying, emotions,
fights and action… that was new for me and it was much more
difficult than singing but I enjoyed it. Director Uday Subba
offered me the role and the film was complete and pretty well
received as well. Even today, the vcds of the film are selling
in the market.
Why didn't you continue as an actor after that?
After ‘Gundaraaj' the same director offered me a role in a movie
named 'Kanoon' which had famous casts like Rajesh Hamal and
Dilip Raymajhi but because of my previous commitments and obviously
time management failures, I couldn't do that movie but I did
do the music for the film.
Have you thought of doing more movies in the future?
These days I'm very busy with my concerts and recordings which
is my main forte. Honestly speaking, I've also not been offered
any films in recent times but if I am approached with any significant
roles, I am more than open to it.
You are one of the most busiest playback singers today,
how did it all begin?
I started with the movie named 'Garib' and I want to thank the
producers of the movie Ashok Sharma, Kiran Sharma and music
director Shambhujeet Banskota for that. After the first song
I did for the movie, Ashok Sharma also wanted me to do three
more songs and after that, I didn't have to look back. Offers
kept rolling in.
How is singing in films different from singing for your
personal albums?
Ya! It's different. While singing for films it's important to
consider the cast and what suits a particular person… who is
singing the song in the movie and so on. I also need to be very
aware of the concept, story line, different characters, situations
the song is being pictured on etc. as well as how it is being
presented on screen. Whereas, while in my album it's just me
and I sing the song being myself!
To something personal now, do you have a girlfriend
and when are you planning on getting married!
I don't have a girlfriend. My fans might be curious about when
I'm getting married on the similar lines like when Salman Khan
or Rajesh Hamal getting married! There is no definite age to
get married. Right now, I have been very much focused on my
career and my responsibilities as an artist. I have to do a
lot for my music and country still. I have no plans right now
but I will definitely later. Lets see. Hehehe!
Could you name some of your favorite singers?
I like Narayan Gopal, Bachhu Kailash, Deep Shrestha, Arun Thapa.
Talking about singers from the younger generation, I like Nima
Rumba, Raju Lama, Khem Raj Gurung, Sujil Karmacharya, Dibya
Subba and as for international singers, I like Elton John. When
it comes to Indian singers, I like Sunidhi Chauhan, Udit Narayan
and Sonu Nigam.
Changing topics now, what do you do during load shedding
hours?
When there is electricity, I make sure my laptop is fully charged
so that I can use it during the long load shedding hours. I
read, listen to songs.
Well, that just about wraps up. Any message for you fans?
As the lyrics of my song 'Failiyo Maya Dubo Sari' suggests,
I hope the love and support from my audience continues to grow
and I also take this opportunity to advocate the love for Nepali
music and lets stop piracy! |
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