I don’t create songs to meet expectations: Darshan Raval

Darshan Raval celebrated his 28th birthday on October 18, and on the occasion gifted his fans one of his most anticipated songs ‘Tum Mere’, whose teaser was released nearly three years ago. Raval describes it as a “return gift” to his fans, saying, “For the last three years, I have been making a conscious effort to give a return gift to my fans. They are always so excited about my birthday, aur do din pehle se countdown start hojaata hai. The song is my way of saying thank you to them. I did Duniya Chor Dunga last year, and before that I did an entire album to gift them. This is also a very old song. There was only one line and people loved it so much that they kept on telling me to complete the song and release it soon. And here we are!”

However, sometimes the teaser creates the hype but the actual track falls short of the audience’s expectations, as was the case with the song Kesariya (Brahmastra). Commenting on that, the singer says, “I don’t create songs to meet expectations. I strive to do what I believe to be good and right. So, initially people might find it different…or not like it because our imaginations take us anywhere with one line. However, as the melody grows, I am confident they will enjoy it eventually. As musicians, we spend a lot of time analysing it. We as artiste are our harshest critics. .When I make songs for my fans, every detail is meticulously scrutinised and I ensure that I convey the right emotions. Wo ek line bhi mene hi banai thi, and as a musician, I work on the entire song with the same zeal.”

Raval considers his fans to be his greatest strength, which is why he is frequently seen interacting with them on social media, posting a lot of content for them, and being extremely active. When we ask if it’s just a way for him to connect with his followers or if he sees social media as a marketing tool, Raval says, “Agar marketing tool hota to mera har gaana 400 million hota. Aisa nahi hai ki mere social media pr share krne se mera gaana superhit hota. It’s an individual’s choice to like a song or dislike it. I have no control over it. I don’t use it to market my music but to connect with people who love me. I am lucky they love me so much and that’s why I dedicate my songs to them. Hai mera connection alag.” Raval acknowledges the fact that several people are using social media to grow and there is no harm in doing that, but I don’t feel mujhe abhi uski zaroorat hai. We all promote our songs, but I don’t just do it for the sake of it.”

But everything was not this good for Raval. There were times when the same people criticised him and his music so badly that Raval felt disappointed at times. ”I started my journey on Youtube and 99 per cent of the time comments were against me. If I hadn’t had the right people around me, I would have given up on music because of the negativity,” he recalls,

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