I DON’T LIKE AGGRESSIVE MUSIC VIDEOS: BALLY SAGOO

The musician, who recently performed in Delhi, talks about why his music works till date, and what’s wrong with songs of today

The youth of India is copying what’s happening in the West. I don’t agree with the violence and guns seen in music videos... That’s not what we should portray BALLY SAGOO, PUNJABI MUSICIAN

P unjabi-pop sensation of the ’90s, Bally Sagoo’s songs such as Gur Nalon Ishq Mitha, Aaja Nachle and Botallan Sharab Diyan are still dance-floor favourites. “It’s fantastic that I have so many great tracks that to this date, about 20 years later, are still so popular,” says the 53-year-old music directorproducer and DJ. And the reason for their long shelf life is the absence of vulgarity, he adds.

“It’s because my big hits like Mera Laung Gawacha and Gur Nalon Ishq Mitha are family-oriented. They please everybody all over the world. I’ve been making music for many years, and understand the thoughts of people. I was the guy who started the craze of remix scenes in India. But I don’t agree with the constant vulgarity happening today, the violence and guns seen in music videos. It gives a wrong impression to youngsters. With the Internet, there’s access to so many things. Hence, the youth of India is copying a lot of what’s happening in the West. I don’t like those aggressive videos and gun violence… that’s something India needs to change. Especially in Punjab, there are a lot of Punjabi videos with a lot of aggression. And that’s not what we should be portraying,” says Sagoo.

The musician visited DelhiNCR recently, when he performed at Gurgaon’s CyberHub over the Lohri weekend. A winter time Punjabi folk festival, Lohri is celebrated on January 13. Calling his gig in Delhi a “special experience”, he shares, “I was born in Delhi. I have always loved the city because my journey began from here. It’s a great privilege to come to the city where my roots are. But this is the first time I celebrated Lohri here.”

Sagoo had shifted to the United Kingdom during his childhood. Comparing how the festival is celebrated there, considering UK has a huge Punjabi population, he adds, “I have lived my life since childhood in England, and never celebrated Lohri in the UK. It’s more of a bigger thing over here. You’ve got to be in India to experience Lohri. You can’t experience the same magic anywhere else. Living in a gora (foreign) country, one can’t really celebrate.”