AR Rahman is the reason I even thought of doing music

Parag Chhabra's life changed the day AR Rahman saw him performing at a college event and invited him to be part of his music group. The young composer-singer, with no knowledge of the industry, started his journey thereon under the guidance of legendary Rahman. And today, he has successfully created a niche for himself in the highly competitive music industry.

In an exclusive interview, Parag talks about how easy or difficult it is to survive without a godfather in the showbiz world. "When you have no godfather in the industry, it's difficult for sure because you don't get a chance to knock on the right doors straightaway. But I feel, it's also liberating in a way as it lets you take your journey and shape it the way you want. The journey can be tough or simple depending on the talent one is carrying along."

About having AR Rahman as the mentor, Parag feels, "Rahman sir has been a mentor to me in the truest sense. For me (and many other musicians of my generation), he is the sole reason why I even thought of doing music in the first place. Working with him so closely as a music producer and travelling on live shows with him has taught me a wide variety of things related to composition and production."

"As far as his name is concerned, it has helped me in my independent journey as a composer. People don't take you lightly even if they haven't heard of your work before. having said that, it also comes with a certain amount of expectations but the fun lies in meeting those expectations and doing better work. I would always want to stand up to his name and make him proud," he concludes.

On the work front, Parag is currently enjoying the appreciation for Jai Mummy Di's title track, which he created independently. His upcoming projects include a web series 'Happily Ever After' and a Marathi film 'Y' which is doing festival rounds at the moment.