Aamir Khan<\/a>. After that, I got very busy with Coke Studio, live shows and my independent music. You can\u2019t stop making music just because you\u2019re not singing in Bollywood. In the 90s, I was already creating so much music, so that journey never stopped.<\/p>\nIs it nostalgic? Emotional? Does it feel like unfinished business?<\/p>\n
If I\u2019m not excited, I don\u2019t do it. That\u2019s just who I am.Whether it was Coke Studio, my 90s music, or my new albums like The White Album and Phir Se Rock and Roll, I\u2019ve always been excited like I was at 17. I\u2019ve never changed. For me, music comes before everything. If I don\u2019t enjoy it, I can\u2019t do a good job.Songs like Pari Hoon Main, Yaaron Dosti, Pal \u2014 I created those melodies because I loved doing them. And people loved them too. I\u2019ve always worked out of passion.When Raju Singh called me to sing Zorr Ka Dhakka, I was excited immediately. Rajiv and I go back a long way. He\u2019s a wonderful composer and producer. I knew if he was calling me, it was for a reason. When I heard Anusha Srinivasan Iyer\u2019s lyrics, they instantly fit the energy of a title track. I had so much fun recording it. And here I am again, after 26 years, singing another Bollywood title track.<\/p>\n
How does it feel singing for someone else\u2019s composition instead of your own?<\/p>\n
I love it.When a composer knows what they want, they can guide you properly. It\u2019s like a film director \u2014 if the director knows the emotion he wants from an actor, he brings out the best in them. That\u2019s what Raju did. He knew exactly how he wanted me to sing it.When I\u2019m composing and producing my independent music, I decide everything. But in Bollywood, the film director is the captain of the ship. The music director is the captain of his department. I come in as the singer. So I sing it the way they want it. It\u2019s not my film or my song \u2014 I\u2019m the singer.And I enjoy that process just as much.<\/p>\n
Will we hear more Bollywood songs from you now?<\/p>\n
Of course. I\u2019m very open to collaborating \u2014 whether as a singer or even as a music director. I\u2019d love to work with young artists and directors.People sometimes think I\u2019m unapproachable because they grew up listening to my music in the 90s. There\u2019s a respect factor. They feel slightly awkward approaching me. But there\u2019s no misconception. I\u2019m very open.If I\u2019m singing for your film, you are the captain. I follow your vision. When I\u2019m doing my independent music, then I decide. That\u2019s the only difference.I\u2019m not unbreakable. I\u2019m very open to creating new music with new people.<\/p>\n
Looking at your journey from the 90s to now, what has changed more \u2014 the industry or your relationship with music?<\/p>\n
Technology has changed everything. And that has changed the industry.Today, anyone with a computer can be a composer. Technology can correct pitch. Big corporate houses now make many decisions. The artistry has shifted. And now AI will change even more.What I feel is missing is melody. In the 90s, melodies were strong. Then technology took over. We have incredible sound quality today \u2014 but songs are missing. That\u2019s why Bollywood keeps remixing old songs. The melody is still there in those songs.I think melody is coming back. If you listen to the opening of Zorr Ka Dhakka, it\u2019s melodious. It\u2019s not just noise. There\u2019s a story in the song, and it\u2019s presented musically.Only a good melody lasts a lifetime.In 2026, people are still singing Pari Hoon Main and Yaaron. During Navratri, all over the world, for nine days every year, Pari Hoon Main is played. That\u2019s because it connected with people\u2019s hearts.That\u2019s my speciality \u2014 melody. And I believe people are ready for it again.<\/p>\n
Recently, there\u2019s been discussion about repetitive romantic songs after Arijit Singh’s retirement from playback singing. How can that pattern break?<\/p>\n
A lot of it has to do with algorithms. If one romantic song works, streaming platforms push 50 similar songs. So you end up hearing 50 songs that sound the same.That\u2019s not always the artist\u2019s fault. The algorithm promotes what has worked before.If you hear my White Album, it has six romantic songs \u2014 and all of them sound completely different from each other. But it takes time. My 1991 music became popular in 1993. Colonial Cousins took time. Pari Hoon Main took time.Some music is ahead of its time. You lay it out there, and slowly people begin to appreciate it.<\/p>\n
What keeps you relevant even today?<\/p>\n
Passion.If someone gives me Rs 100, I will give them Rs 120 worth of content. I cannot work without passion. That\u2019s why I\u2019m still here in 2026. I was doing music in the 80s. I was relevant then. And I\u2019m still relevant now.I\u2019m not trying to be different. I\u2019m just being myself. This is my voice. You like it? Fantastic. If you don\u2019t like it, that\u2019s fine. I\u2019ve never changed my music to please everyone. My music has always remained the way I believe it should be.Today, people tell me, \u201cThere\u2019s something in your songs.\u201d That\u2019s a beautiful thing to hear. I\u2019ve always worked from the heart, and passion is everything. Without passion, you cannot last.You can have all the marketing money in the world. You can promote yourself heavily. You might shine for two days and disappear. But if you want longevity, it has to come from within.If you see my concerts \u2014 just go to my Instagram and check my latest live show post \u2014 you won\u2019t feel like you\u2019re watching someone who is 65. Age doesn\u2019t matter to me. I feel 26.When I started working on my White Album in 2020, I re-aged myself to 20. So today, when I speak to you, I\u2019m 26. That energy shows in my performances. My music is still rocking.<\/p>\n
Many young composers struggle with finding their identity. What\u2019s your take on that?<\/p>\n
Today, a lot of artists struggle with identity. People want to box you into one thing. If you\u2019re a banker, they say you can\u2019t be a cricketer. Why not? If you have both talents, you can do both.But people don\u2019t like to see multi-talented individuals. They want to define you.I can\u2019t help that. From the early days \u2014 whether it was A Band of Boys or my independent work \u2014 I\u2019ve explored different sounds.If you listen to White Album, it\u2019s romantic and melodic. If you listen to my rock projects, they\u2019re pure rock and roll \u2014 in your face. My next album might have a 90s Bollywood or indie-pop flavour. You\u2019ll wonder how the same person is doing romantic songs, rock songs, and retro-inspired tracks.That\u2019s my talent. Unless I keep doing it, how will people know what I\u2019m capable of?<\/p>\n
Is that why returning to Bollywood excites you?<\/p>\n
Absolutely. It\u2019s not like I gave up on Bollywood. I\u2019ve just been very busy.After 2000, I was performing all over the world \u2014 London, Istanbul, Munich, Beijing. I travel constantly. I don\u2019t stay in Mumbai much. So if someone wants me to sing, I might not even be in the country.But I love going to the studio. I love standing in front of the composer and creating something together. That\u2019s the real fun.That\u2019s why I was excited to record again with Raju Singh and Anusha. To stand there and build the song together \u2014 that\u2019s magic.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve seen multiple eras in the industry. What do you make of conversations about bias, like the recent comments by AR Rahman?<\/p>\n
I honestly don\u2019t know what he said or in what context he said it. I don\u2019t follow these political discussions.Rahman<\/a> is Rahman. He has achieved everything. He\u2019s given us some of the biggest songs ever. If he said something, I\u2019m sure there\u2019s a context. But I\u2019m not the right person to comment on it.I am my own industry. I don\u2019t hang around discussing what someone said about someone else. I don\u2019t even have that many friends in the industry.My friends are my computer, my music, and my next song.Which artist is putting out an album every year? Or releasing a new song every two or three months consistently?For the last two years, I\u2019ve been doing exactly that. Now I have eight to ten songs ready.I want to introduce this generation to ideas from 30\u201340 years ago \u2014 not by copying old songs, but by bringing back the concept. Why did our grandparents love Noorjahan? Why did those melodies connect so deeply?Our DNA is the same. If something was beautiful then, it can still touch people today. But you must present it in a new way \u2014 new production, new masala, new packaging.You don\u2019t reuse the old song. You recreate the emotion in a modern soundscape. Like Dhurandhar. <\/p>\nIf you were starting out today, would you choose the film route first or build your career independently?<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think artists always have a clear choice. The opportunities come in front of you, and you decide whether to take them.For me, 2026 feels like something new. Singing in Bollywood again after 26 years is exciting. At the same time, I\u2019ve been releasing independent music for the last two to three years consistently. When I heard the lyrics recently, I liked how they were written in context and how my voice was used \u2014 almost like presenting me as a new singer again in Bollywood.That excites me.I just want to go to more places, reach more people, and keep creating. I\u2019m excited about what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As one half of Colonial Cousins alongside Hariharan, Leslee Lewis helped redefine the Indian pop soundscape of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317806,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[4194,81991,321,148158,93,61,60,148155,148157,148161,148160,148159,125996,148156],"class_list":{"0":"post-317805","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-aamir-khan","9":"tag-ar-rahman","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-coke-studio","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-leslee","16":"tag-leslee-lewis","17":"tag-leslee-lewis-bollywood-comeback","18":"tag-leslee-lewis-interview","19":"tag-phir-se-rock-and-roll","20":"tag-rahman","21":"tag-zorr-ka-dhakka"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Leslee](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/128796878.jpg\" "\\"As")
As one half of Colonial Cousins alongside Hariharan, Leslee Lewis helped redefine the Indian pop soundscape of the 90s. Now, 26 years after his last Bollywood outing, Leslee is back as a singer with Zorr Ka Dhakka, marking a full-circle moment in his musical journey. In an exclusive interview with ETimes, the composer-singer opens up about why he never chased trends, how passion keeps him \u201c26 at heart,\u201d the evolving sound of the industry, and why melody will always outlive marketing. As one half of Colonial Cousins alongside Hariharan, Leslee Lewis helped redefine the Indian pop soundscape of the 90s. From genre-bending fusion to timeless indie-pop anthems, he carved a space that was uniquely his own \u2014 melodic, emotional and unmistakably original.Now, 26 years after his last Bollywood outing, Leslee is back as a singer with Zorr Ka Dhakka, marking a full-circle moment in his musical journey. In an exclusive interview with ETimes, the composer-singer opens up about why he never chased trends, how passion keeps him \u201c26 at heart,\u201d the evolving sound of the industry, and why melody will always outlive marketing. <\/p>\n