Gar Mera Bass Chale – When Sonu Nigam Wanted It His Way

Year of release: 1997

Album: Sapne ki Baat

Lyricist: Manohar Iyer, Shyamraj, Sonu Nigam, Yogesh

Composer: Raju Singh

Sonu is excited. His song from Pardes has recently become a huge hit. And now his first solo album, for which he has waited ever so long, is finally going to be released.

It is evening. He is watching the music video of the album Sapne ki Baat with Gulshan Kumar. He's a little miffed though. Thanks to some people at the music company, he has not been able to give his album the name he wants to. Sonu pushes the thought away and tries to focus on the present. He's delighted to see Gulshan Kumar in fits. The video is hilarious. "He laughed so much, because it was such a fun-filled one, especially the Pooja Pooja number which is a tribute to all the girls named Pooja," says Sonu. The music baron assures him that he will throw a grand release party for the album.

The next morning, on the 12th of August 1997, as per the norm, Gulshan Kumar goes to Jeeteshwar Mahadev Mandir in Andheri. He never comes back.

He is alone that morning as his bodyguard has taken ill. Two men who had been hiding in the nearby hutment colony, fire three shots at him. Gulshan Kumar falls to the ground. Bleeding profusely, he crawls into one of the huts and asks the lady inside the hut to shut the door. The shocked woman is paralysed by fear and unable to move, thus enabling the killers to burst into the hut and fire another fifteen bullets into Gulshan Kumar's body.

Sonu is devastated when he hears the news. With the death of his godfather, a crucial chapter of his life comes to an end...

The late nineties are witnessing a quiet shift in Indian music. Independent albums are no longer side projects; they are becoming statements. For Sonu, this is not merely playback success spilling over into pop. This is him stepping out as an individual voice, separate from film narratives, standing centre stage without a hero to lip-sync for.

Sapne ki Baat is Sonu's first solo pop album and has eight songs. With Raju Singh’s signature 90s sound – lush orchestration, soft synth layers and that unmistakable cassette-rewound-with-a-pencil-era polish, the album carries the mood of its time. Songs like 'Sapne ki Baat' and 'Gar Mera Bass Chale' find steady rotation on music channels, their videos adding to the recall value in an era when television is king.

Sonu wants to call it Gar Mera Bass Chale – If I Can Have My Way. The music company, T-Series, names it Sapne ki Baat. Ufff… the irony!

Musically, the album explores different emotional shades. While the opening tracks 'Sapne ki Baat' and 'Gar Mera Bass Chale' are romantic numbers, 'Zindagi ka Haath Choom Loon' and 'Kiya Kyun Dhoka' are sad.

'Papa I Am Sorry' is a poignant song, the lyrics heart-breaking. It comes as a complete surprise and that's putting it mildly, as it is about a young lad suffering from AIDS. Back then, lack of knowledge about this ailment means, myths, misconceptions and stigma attached to the illness are rife. It is a malady that people are scared of even whispering. So it takes guts to include a song on a subject regarded as a taboo, in one's first solo album. It is commendable that Sonu has it in him to take this risk, so early in his career.

“Our country still has a lot to learn about HIV and we must strive hard to educate people. Such is the sorry state of our society that we choose to shun away people rather than embracing them and helping them to lead a normal life just like everyone else,” says Sonu.

The video of the song is brilliantly picturised and choreographed. In an interview taken in the year 2000, Sonu says this is his favourite, amongst all the videos he has done to date. “This song was recorded for World AIDS Day and the video touches everyone at some level,” he adds.

The album is Gulshan Kumar's dream project and he puts his heart and soul into it. He even plans a grand release function. Unfortunately, he doesn't live to attend it and the album gets a quiet release, contrary to Gulshanji's plans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWVr747f37Q

What many don't know is that both the male and female voices in the album are Sonu's. "We were short of budget,” he explains. “And then, I could do it. So, the high-pitched notes you hear are mine, both in female solo and the chorus."

This is not just a debut album. It is a young artist staking his claim. Singing his own duets, taking on taboo subjects, dreaming big, arguing over titles, laughing over videos, and then grieving a mentor, all in the span of a few weeks. Sapne ki Baat carries within it innocence, ambition and is touched by circumstances beyond anyone’s control. For Sonu, this is not merely eight songs pressed onto a cassette. It is responsibility. It is risk. And above all, it is belief – the belief that if given a chance, perhaps, just perhaps, gar mera bass chale...

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