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EXCLUSIVE: Tesher feels that Ranveer Singh would capture the essence of Jalebi Baby perfectly
Tesher spoke with Pinkvilla about his hit number Jalebi Baby and his experience working with Jason Derulo
The talented Canadian-Indian rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer Hitesh Sharma popularly known as Tesher rose to fame with his super hit number Jalebi Baby that literally ruled the charts and became the summer bop of 2021. Pinkvilla met with Tesher to discuss his super hit number and his tremendous success. Of course, we had to discuss his collaboration with Jason Derulo.
Tesher has a lot of Bollywood references in his music and albums. We therefore checked with Tesher how be became a Bollywood fan, growing up in Canada. Also, is Tesher really fond of Jalebis and does he have a sweet tooth? Catch all this and more in this exclusive interview.
How do you feel about the success of Jalebi Baby, has it been overwhelming?
It's been crazy, it just feels like the song keeps getting bigger and bigger. I put the song out in November of 2020 and here we are in August, and it is still going strong. In America it’s just starting to get on the Billboard and going higher and higher, so I don't know how long I am going to be on the Jalebi train for, but it’s been so long of me making music and to finally reach this point with this much success, is an incredible feeling.
You have a lot of Bollywood references in your songs, has Bollywood been a huge part of your life, growing up?
When I was growing up, Bollywood movies were always on in the house, and we would watch them all the time. It was also the way we would stay close to the culture. Growing up in Canada, all we had was the music, the movies, and the functions. Also, going to the mandir, or Gurudwara, that's only what Canadians can do to keep us close to the culture. So yeah, Bollywood has been a huge part of my childhood. I haven't seen a new Bollywood movie in a long time though. I don't know if the younger generation is into Bollywood the way my generation was, but it was always so wonderous, so larger than life, and that was so beautiful for me to see.
You talk about sweets in the song. Do you have a sweet tooth?
You think that, but I don't! I go to people's houses and of course, plates full of Jalebis ready for me. They expect me to eat the whole plate, but I just can have one! I am not a sweet fanatic, I like them, but I am not a fanatic.
The video with Jason is amazing. It is all things any Bollywood fan would love. How was it working with Jason?
Wonderful. When it came to the music video, he wanted to lean into the culture and do things right. When we were working on the record, I told him if we could execute this properly, this could not only be a big moment as a song, but something big for our entire culture. Hopefully this becomes a record that breaks doors for more south Asian and American collaborations to happen.
When we did the music video, it was important for us to do something that showed us together. That's why we're always having fun together, we hit that Bhangra section together, and at the end, neither of us get the girl, we both go our own separate ways and are united against us not getting the girl. This is because we wanted to show respect to each other and show both of our cultures authentically and in a proper way.
What did you love about working with Jason and what did you learn from Jason?
I loved just watching him on the set. I would watch him because he would just kill it every single take. After that he would go, watch the monitor and he was full on professional. He is so talented too. One thing I learned in specific is that he told me, ‘Look in the camera, always look in the camera.' When I asked why, he was like, 'You should look in the camera because that is how the audience builds the connection with you’. As soon as he said that I thought back to all the movies I have seen. I thought about Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, and I remembered them making eye contact. That was a huge piece of advice.
You recently tweeted about a Jalebi K-pop remix, and you tagged BTS. Is there a collab in the works?
I would love to collaborate with BTS, I am such a fan. BTS fans love that record, because of the amount of time I get tagged in the edits that they make. We all know how amazing BTS fans are. They edit them in such a way that I forget it’s my song. I would be so open to a BTS remix. I would love to work with Drake, AR Rahman.
Is there any Indian actor who you would love to see perform for Jalebi Baby?
Ranveer Singh for sure. Ranveer is great, he reminds me of me. When I am at a party, I go all out, just like me so I feel he would capture the essence of it perfectly. So Ranveer Singh for sure.
Watch it here:
