Singers Arjun Kanungo and Jonita Gandhi reveal how, many moons ago, they had recorded a song together right next to the Khar restaurant where they discuss their craft
Arjun Kanungo and Jonita Gandhi after lunch at The Looney The Lover & The Poet in Khar. Pics/Shadab Khan
These are busy days for Arjun Kanungo, he tells us after arriving for the latest edition of Lunchbox. Side Hero — the humorous web series with which the singer has made a serious foray into acting — is trending as we speak. That necessitates a five-minute PR call he excuses himself for. Later in the afternoon, he has to attend a production meeting for a new video he's about to shoot for. And there's also a script he's writing for an online show, which needs to be adapted according to the producer's demands.
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Similarly, Jonita Gandhi has her hands full. The Indo-Canadian songstress recently returned from a long and gruelling tour of the US with AR Rahman. She also lent her voice for recent releases Laila Majnu and Manmarziyan. Plus, there's the launch of a song she did for a Tamil movie called Sarkar. But right now, it's time for her to have lunch at Khar's The Looney The Lover & The Poet with Kanungo, a friend with whom she launches into a conversation about the future of Hindi pop music, the difference between recording videos and singing on stage, and a mighty weird restaurant in Japan.
Arjun Kanungo and Jonita Gandhi
Jonita (to Shunashir): Actually, it's really funny and cool that we are meeting here, because it's just beside where Arjun and I first met.
Arjun: Yeah, we shot Saibo [a Bollywood song they did a cover video for] very next door. It was early 2015, and I remember calling my manager and asking her, 'Do you think Jonita will do it? She's like such a big name.'
Jonita: You're joking. That's hilarious.
Arjun: I'm not kidding! I had only released one video before that. So this was my second or third one, something like that.
Jonita: I remember being nervous about the fact that it wasn't one of those videos where I just sit in a room and there is a mic. It was a lot more story-based.
Shunashir: Meaning you had to emote and there was acting involved?
Jonita: A little bit, yeah.
Shunashir (to Arjun): So was that video your entry point into commercial music?
Arjun: Not really, because I had already done a stint in Bollywood playback in 2013. But I wasn't enjoying it, which is why I left for an acting course at Lee Strasberg [in New York], and I wanted to be an actor when I came back. But then Sony Music called up after seeing a YouTube video, saying they want to sign me. So I was like, 'What do you want me to do? Do you want me to sing playback?' And they said, 'No, there is a market that we see in the next few years, and we want to launch you as a pop star. Just make songs that you like, which have to be in Hindi, and we'll take care of the rest.' And I said, 'Great!' So, they were actually one of the first guys who had the vision for Hindi pop music, and I do see it blowing up soon, because it's a good business model. Even film songs sometimes can't compare in terms of the numbers.
Shunashir: Right. But then, both of you also perform live on a regular basis. So what creative adjustments do you have to make between being on stage and recording for a video, like Saibo?
Jonita: I think that when you're in front of the camera, you're sometimes playing a role, and on stage, you're playing yourself. You're playing your own brand. But then I guess you could be doing that in your music videos as well. I mean, a lot of the performance shots that we do for videos involve the same actions we would be doing live, because on stage, too, sometimes you feel like you're playing a character for a particular song. If you take the recent tour I did with Rahman sir, his music is so diverse and spans so many decades that the context of each song is really different. So, in the same show, even though I'm wearing the same clothes, I felt like I'm kind of being somebody else from song to song. And I think that's what makes this whole activity of being a singer so much fun. The choice that you have in terms of how you want to interpret a song and make it your own is where we get the most amount of creative freedom. And it holds true for both the stage and in front of the camera, don't you think?
Arjun: Yeah, I agree. It's a mix, like you say.
The food — dishes named the random chicken salad, fish of the day, and for the morning after — arrives.
Arjun: You know, I generally don't like the food in Mumbai, to be honest. There are only a few places that are good. For instance, I really like One Street Over. Then there's The Table. And one of my favourite places for Japanese is Wasabi. But it's so expensive that I go there just once a year. It's like Rs 15,000 for an appetiser and a main course.
Jonita: Rs 15,000?!
Arjun: Yeah, and it can go up to Rs 35-40,000 for two people. It's really insane. But I love Japanese food, and there's a new sushi place called Izumi that I really want to try. Also, you guys must go to Blue. It does the best sushi in town. So yeah, in fact, I just love Japan. Have you been there?
Jonita: Yes, twice actually. And I remember a crazy restaurant designed like a prison, called Alcatraz or something. All the food there is served with a performance. Like, there was a pina colada type drink I had ordered that was served in a baby bottle, which the waitresses, who are dressed as nurses, actually feed to you. And then there are these shots you can order for somebody on the table, where they make the person stand up. Then they say something in Japanese, so nobody knows what's going on, and all of a sudden you
get slapped!
Arjun: That.is.nuts.
Jonita: Yeah, you must go there the next time.
Quick takes
A film you wish you could have been associated with.
Arjun: Dangal.
Jonita: Slumdog Millionaire.
A person you'd love to tour with.
Arjun: AR Rahman.
Jonita: Bruno Mars!
Your favourite music venue.
Arjun: You mean in Mumbai? You know, there really aren't too many anymore. So I'll just say Hammersmith Apollo in London.
Jonita: I'd say the Metlife Stadium in New York.
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