HEALING THE WORLD, ONE RAP AT A TIME
Actor-rapper Arjun Fauzdar talks about his latest single that highlights racial discrimination
Badi mushkilon se teri dosti paayi hai, koi kuch bhi kahe, tu mera bhai hai,” raps actor Arjun Fauzdar a.k.a. AJ Fauzdar, who turned rapper recently with the single — Tu Mera Bhai Hai — with singer Rahul Rajkhowa. If you think, it is a normal song about friendship then you are not entirely correct because though it is about friendship, it is also about people who face racial discrimination in our country. “I have always wanted to do something around racial discrimination,” says Fauzdar.
Prompt him, why this, why now and he shares that it was well-thought out and based on being a witness to such a phenomenon, and goes as far back as 2006. “My first time ever at a DU fest was in the year 2006. And I saw segregation of students. Northeastern folks were dancing with their fellow mates on one side and the north Indian crowd was dancing in their own corner. I couldn’t relate to it as I have been with people from different cultures, regions. It didn’t sit well with me. And I thought [to myself that] we’re all Indians... So why is this happening!”
Fauzdar has penned the lyrics based on his Northeastern friends’ experiences. “I am not saying I can change it (the situation), but I can do my bit. I wanted to do this through creative expression as it’s a very powerful medium,” says the actor who is known for films such as Gurgaon (2017) and Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho (2015).
Fauzdar, who now divides his time between the Capital and Mumbai, informs that the video of the song has primarily been shot in Delhi. It has garnered over 1.3M views on YouTube and it is his attempt at “battling racism”. And he couldn’t be more thrilled about the responses he received for the video. “It’s overwhelming as people are getting the message that I wanted to put across. I keep seeing comments about the fact that ‘it’s good that I’ve done something’. [Ultimately] we all are one, one blood,” says Fauzdar who has more singles, a web series, and a Bollywood film in the pipeline.
Mention how other actors have also dabbled in singing in the past such as Alia Bhatt and Parineeti Chopra, and he says, “I don’t know if it’s a trend right now but I have a different thought process about it... learning never stops for an actor.”
It’s overwhelming as people are getting the message that I wanted to put across. I keep seeing comments about the fact that ‘it’s good that I’ve done something’. [Ultimately] we all are one, one blood.
ARJUN FAUZDAR ACTOR-RAPPER