Akash Chopra | Singer-songwriter | The Jaipur musician says that the maximum city is where your art can get the respect it deserves, but only if you survive it
Born and raised in Jaipur, musician Akash Chopra is learning the challenges of living in Bombay, first-hand. Pic/Shadab Khan
To be here, I’ve gone through all my savings. That’s just to pay my rent. It’s not easy to survive in this city,” Akash Chopra tells mid-day over the phone. His words are somber, but they are delivered with a casual and relaxed intonation. It’s an inflection reminiscent of the undertones in his music, which is compared to “a lazy, peaceful rainy day where you’re tucked in your blanket” on Spotify. His soft Indie vocals blend together seamlessly with the sound of his acoustic guitar to make music that is stunningly melancholic and stirring, no matter where the listener comes from. His most-streamed song, Tu Hi, has a sound that is evocative of the Indie Rock stylings of Welsh musician Novo Amor, the dream-like, tranquil instrumentals of Sufjan Stevens, and the music of Indie folk sensation Prateek Kuhad.
And yet, for Chopra, this is just the beginning of his laborious journey to finding success in Mumbai. The 29-year-old moved from Jaipur to Mumbai in February 2022 after being dismissed from his job as a guitar and piano teacher during the pandemic. “This city is where the industry is. It’s where the art is. It’s the place where you can earn the respect you deserve for the art you’re making,” he says, adding one crucial caveat, “all of that only applies if you can survive here.”
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The Tu Hi singer tells mid-day that he did not have stable access to the internet growing up, which would have hampered his ability to listen to music if he wasn’t so determined to do so. “I didn’t just love music, I lived it. My father and grandfather were both musicians, and I learned guitar professionally at the age of 7. When I was younger, I would go to cyber cafés, just to listen to music.” It was there, in the unassuming cyber cafés of Jaipur that he discovered the man who would influence the trajectory of his career from then on. “My life changed forever when I heard Ankur Tewari’s music. He is my biggest musical inspiration by far, because before this, I only used to write lyrics in English. After hearing his music, I was inspired to write music in Hindi.” Chopra now writes music in both English and Hindi, with his 2020 single Clumsy being his most popular English-language song, almost rivaling the success of Tu Hi in terms of Spotify streams.
The Jaipur-born musician was first drawn to Bombay by the prospect of a collaboration with Meet Bros, a musical duo consisting of brothers Manmeet and Harmeet Singh, originally from Madhya Pradesh. “After I lost my job, I was looking for opportunities on LinkedIn. [Meet Bros] found me on LinkedIn, and told me they liked what I do. They asked me to come to Bombay to work with them. Within a month, I was in Bombay, working on music with Meet Bros.” This whirlwind experience was a sizeable stepping stone for both Chopra’s career and his musical prowess. “To me, Manmeet Singh is a living legend. In these last 15 to 16 months living in Mumbai, he has changed my entire perspective on music. He taught me everything I know about this industry, and I don’t think he could ever understand the full extent of how much he has done for me.” While Chopra grew up listening to music from genres ranging from classic Bollywood to hardcore rock, Mumbai transformed him into a true multi-genre artist. “I’ve always been comfortable in multiple genres, but my skills got polished once I moved here. If you’re working as a songwriter in Mumbai, you need to be able to adapt to any genre, very quickly. It has trained me to always move one step ahead of what I’m thinking, from a creative standpoint.”
Chopra was able to leverage his professional relationship with Meet bros to find work as a songwriter. Most recently, he wrote lyrics for playback singer Meghna Mishra’s first EP, Milaap, which was released this month. The former teacher wrote two songs for the new EP, Befikar and Main Jaanu Na. Currently, he is also writing for Laal Bindi singer, Akul. “I wrote my first song when I was in 10th Grade,” he tells us. “Since then, I’ve written over 500 songs, including my own, as well as songs I’ve written for other people. When I moved to Mumbai, though, my songwriting was elevated to another league.”
Aside from making music himself, the former music teacher, who is no stranger to the archetypal artistic struggle, aims to elevate other underrated musicians to success. In 2018, he started a house concert series called Artistické in Jaipur. “I know so many musicians who don’t get the recognition they deserve for their work,” he explains. “I wanted to create a place where these artists could be celebrated, and could perform their songs. So, I created that space, where we could have house gatherings and concerts.” If all goes well, the singer-songwriter aims to expand Artistické to the Mumbai music scene once he has the funds to pursue this.
Despite these achievements, Chopra suffered a setback in the past few months that has led him to fully realise the range of sacrifices that come with pursuing your dreams, regardless of the cost. “After I worked with Meet bros, I got another job which put a strain on my mental health. I had to resign after only a month, and that’s when I decided to work on my own music again.” It was then, in the face of desolation, that he decided to attempt an ambitious test of his own abilities. “I had this long list of songs I had written, and I decided to compile some of them into an album. I produced and wrote the whole album in my living room, over the course of 15 days,” he says, the sound of a grin in his voice. “For those 15 consecutive days, I didn’t step out of my house. All I did was work.” Chopra’s 11-song album is due to release on August 4.
Mumbai meri jaan?
Love about Mumbai The feeling of living here. I always feel that there are endless possibilities, in every lane.
Hate about Mumbai The traffic, obviously.
Expectations from Mumbai: I didn’t have any before I moved here. Now I have expectations. I’m waiting for Mumbai to understand me, and who I am as an artist, and a person. I want this city to give me the opportunities I deserve: no more, no less.
Has Mumbai lived up to your expectations? So far, yes. There are hard times, but I’ve met great people here who understand what I’m trying to do with my music. With the people I’m working with and composing for, I’m sure it’s all going to work out.
Is it going to be a forever home? I want to stay here forever. I will do anything to keep surviving in this city because the feeling of living here is precious to me.
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