Godse should have killed Jinnah: Babu Haabi

You must be over the moon with the success of your first single Bobocanta

Who wouldn’t be happy if their song was so well received? I was confident I had a good song going and was hoping it wouldn’t get lost on YouTube. But it got over five lakh views in under a week. It has since gone up to 2.4 million and counting.

But there is also a complaint against you for ‘treason and denigrating national icons’ in the video.
It is great to see that someone, somewhere is still capable of outrage. Only, they’re wasting it on me. I can think of corruption, caste and communalism as being bigger worries. But what can one say about ‘patriots’ like these who only go after low-hanging fruit? It’s convenient, lazy and brings quicker publicity.

But surely you’ll concede that making fun of Mahatma Gandhi crosses a line?
I know history books are replete with what he did for the country. Good for him! But the only four-five times a day I get his darshan is when I open my wallet for something. So even if you want to, you can’t really ignore Gandhi in today’s time since money is omnipotent. And why should his breaking into a dance seem absurd? Beboying and break dance are respected dance genres and we’re making him do that in the clothes that he wore. What is the issue?

The Congress says you’re closer to BJP as the video came in quick succession to Rahul Gandhi’s flip-flop linking RSS to Mahatma Gandhi assassination...
Since you brought up Gandhi, I think his assassin made a big mistake. Nathuram Godse should have killed Jinnah instead. I’ve never been close to any party. I see them as extensions of each other. And the kind of radical questions my art asks can make them all equally uncomfortable. As far as Rahul Gandhi is concerned, he’s nothing more than entertainment now. And the less said about the ruling dispensation, the better.

For them or for you?
(Laughs) For them, obviously! After promising to take us to the moon and back in 2014 and landing the fattest mandate, look what they’ve done. Okay, you can’t weed out corruption. And the potholes in Mumbai are worse than before. I’m resigned to that too, but how can you allow Pakistan to make a fool out of India? Talking tough at international gatherings may generate a lot of surround sound and optics, but where is the resolve to take on Pakistan head-on? Just going few kilometres beyond the LoC to take down some camps is not enough. We need to take the battle into Pakistan’s backyard.

What does Bobocanta mean?
It’s the name of an old security guard in my friend’s building who hails from the north-east. Despite his knowledge and helpful nature, people scarcely notice him, forget smiling or greeting him. In him, I see all the people society wants to invisibilise [sic]. Which is why I made that the catchy refrain of my rap song. Even those who can’t repeat the lyrics will know Bobocanta.

Since we’re talking names, what kind of a name is Babu Haabi?
My real name is Badraan. But I’ve always been called Babu since childhood. I’d taken on the additional moniker of ‘Haabi’ while playing games on the PlayStation with friends. I like its vibe, so it stayed.

Are you trained in music?
No, I’m entirely self taught. I learnt to sing and play the guitar on my own. Back in Delhi, I was taken with the qawwali as a form, but destiny clearly had other plans. And mind you, music was not only a passion or love. It was also an escape.

Escape from?
Escape from the horrible childhood that a city like Delhi curses its children with, with a culture of violence and ragging and being picked on for being docile. I barely managed to make it through school and simply wasted time in college. I just quit Class 12 and came to Mumbai for the Remembering Shakti (2012) with British guitarist John McLaughlin, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and others. I fell in love with Mumbai and refused to go back.

Was it easy surviving here?
Delhi’s so wannabe, I’d made a neat packet out of just organising ‘exclusive’ parties. In Delhi, you just say, ‘The Most Expensive Place’, or ‘Only For A Select Few’ and everybody and his monkey wants in. While trying to find work in Mumbai, I lived off that for two years. People tried to gyp me by stealing my work and not paying for the music I made for them. “Tereko chance diya, yehi bahut hai,” I’d often hear. A head honcho of a leading music channel, who first said he liked my work, wanted me to use his out-of-work model girlfriend as a co-rapper for an album with his channel. Since she only croaked, I said no and the deal was off. Guess what? I ran into him recently. I imagine he’s moved on from the model, he now wants to be my co-singer himself.

The Indian rap scene talks only of fast cars, faster women, booze, sex and drugs. Why is your rap so socio-political?
There is only so far one can go with being hormonal like a 13-year-old. Yet, check out our rap scene. Every track seems the same. How long can these big names allow their sense of inadequacy as men masquerade as music? Rap’s always had a history of asking questions of the system. Greats like Melle Mel (Melvin Glover) did this as early as the late ‘70s. I want to reclaim that space.

How did Udta Punjab happen?
I was playing cricket at Aram Nagar grounds when I noticed an antique car. It belonged to Phantom Films, who’d used it for Lootera. I later realised the person I was talking to to borrow the car for a video shoot was Vikramaditya Motwane. When I sent him a song, he liked it a lot and shared it with Amit Trivedi. That’s how I ended up doing three Udta Punjab tracks. Though I was not officially asked about Shahid Kapur’s styling, it felt great to see him with long hair and a beard like mine, walking and talking like I do. 

Are you and Shahid’s Tommy Singh character similar?
Not at all. I’m a teetotaller and have never done drugs. I don’t even have tea or coffee. I’m obsessive about healthy and organic eating and workouts.

What is with the long hair?
Most of my idols had long hair. I wanted to grow my hair. Once I dropped out of college, I never cut it.