‘I’m extremely selective with film songs’: Qaran

Alongside the release of his latest non-film single Haaye Oye featuring Ash King, Qaran’s hit track Tareefan (Veere Di Wedding) is back in the news. Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ video of herself grooving to the number along with Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner has gone viral. The composer enthuses, “I’m thrilled that PC-Nick are in it but it also has my favourite star Sansa Stark (Sophie) from Game of Thrones.” Qaran chats about Haaye Oye starring Elli AvrRam with Shantanu Maheshwari and more...

How did this track come about?

On December 31 in 2015, I was on a holiday in Amsterdam with my high school friends and we ventured far out. While trying to get back, it started raining heavily. We were by the canals and found a boat with shelter, so we sneaked in. My friend had an acoustic guitar and I played some chords that feature in the song that was created in one go. After that, it took some time to get the production and other things right.

Its video boasts of a high production value. Is that the way forward for you?

Yes, I’m striving to raise the bar with every song, visually and sonically. It should not just meet but exceed the listeners’ as well as the viewers’ expectations. I want to perpetuate good, high-quality content. I have three more singles lined up. There will be something constantly coming out over the next year.

A still from Haaye Oye

Why the long gap between Tareefan and your last song Kishmish?

There were a lot of expectations since Tareefan did so well. I didn’t want to put substandard content out.

Anything in Bollywood coming up?

Right now, I’m focussed on independent music. I’m extremely selective with film songs. I was fortunate to work with a producer like Rhea Kapoor, who asked me to make a song that I really liked. For me, creative freedom is more important than having constant songs in Bollywood. I should be able to have numbers that surpass the previous ones.