I never make music to create a hit song, nor do I feel pressured: Rishi

UK-born music producer of Indian origin, Rishi Rich says he has, slowly and “carefully”, been able to produce tracks of his own choice, without having to give into industry demands. The musician began his career with Bhangra style remixes, coming up with his first single Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal) in 2003, which was a huge hit. A decade and a half later, the 42-year-old feels he has managed to finally find his own sound.

“I’ve always been openminded towards music, and from that perspective I have always been open to new styles of music. That has allowed me to create my own signature sound that I can showcase in different styles of music. You see so many international music producers like Timbaland, and you see that their music is so current, and yet you can tell that it’s a song by him,” says Rishi, considered one of the pioneers of fusion and R&B music in India. He has now come up with Maula, a powerful love ballad with Farhan Saeed, former member of the Pakistani rock band, Jal.

Rishi, whose real name is Rishpal Singh Rekhi, has songs such as Mere Dil Vich Hum Tum (Hum Tum, 2004) and Mere Dil Mein (Half Girlfriend, 2017) in his Bollywood discography. He feels he has been able to deliver good music, and not just hit music, but admits that things have gone his way.

“I have been lucky that people around me, in terms of my management, have been very patient and trusting towards the kind of music that I create. I never make music to create a hit song, and I am not pressured to do that either, because people know that I will work only when I am working on a comfortable level,” says Rishi, who has collaborated with the likes of Juggy D and Jay Sean.

“I have been approached by many film producers to give hit music, but as I said earlier, if I am not comfortable working then I will not, and I haven’t done that,” he shares. After 2017’s Half Girlfriend, Rishi is working on the hugely-anticipated Ranveer Singhstarrer Gully Boy. “It’s going to be a musically-oriented, and more importantly, hip-hop-oriented movie. It’s going to be very different from the usual Bollywood film, so I am really excited for it,” he says.

Known for the hit 2003 single Dance with You, Rishi Rich is next working on the upcoming Ranveer Singhstarrer, Gully Boy