Having a famous singer as a father can be tough on children, yet singer Jay Bhattacharya is able to march to his own tune and balance parental expectations and his creative freedom. Of course, it always helps to have supportive parents but success still comes at the price of hard work. Fortunately for Jay Bhattacharya, who is set to release his debut album in December, his father Abhijeet Bhattacharya is supportive of his creative ventures and balances well between critiquing and singing. In a chat with us at Jay Ho ! The Jay Kumar Show, Jay spoke on his passion for singing, how he came to singing, his creative ventures and relationship with his father.
At the very outset of the conversation, Jay’s passion for arts is apparent, which he confirms by saying, “ Since childhood I wanted to get into the industry”. Throughout his education in school and college, he did all things artsy from singing, dancing, and theater. His latest release MINE is his first independent step up into the music world- “It’s my song, my composition, my lyrics and also I am featuring in it, dancing, and acting in it everything that I do. That is me.”
Despite the fact that music and singing runs in the family, Jay confesses that the route towards singing was not a straightforward one. While studying acting in New York, he studied singing alongside. This was a natural extension of his training in classical music, growing up with it. In fact, one of things he admires about his father is his routine and discipline.- yes, since the last 30 years, Abhijeet Bhattacharya has been getting up every morning for his riyaz. No wonder, he is still performing and traveling the world. Another thing he says he learnt from his father is to not take anything for granted but that he is still caring and does not pressure Jay at all.
Continuing on his journey, he said that he was very much into acting at one point and at one point worked with Wizcraft, a famous event company that also does musical broadway shows, on a play called Oye Balle Balle. He was the lead for them and was singing, dancing, and acting on stage. While he received positive reviews in general, his singing often received more praise than others. This made him think that singing runs in him too and that he can take this forward more. In fact, Jay says his father was instrumental in guiding him to music, encouraging his son to create his own music rather than waiting for others.
Coming to the family passion for singing, Jay says that while his father is supportive of all his creative ventures, his father is more supportive of his singing more than dancing and acting. But since Jay loves doing stage and theater, he also keeps his hand in acting, having done a web series and a pilot episode pending approval. When it comes to Jay’s singing, his father is critical and frank. Although Abhijeet Bhattacharya usually doesn’t enjoy new songs too much, he was really positive when Jay showed him his work saying, “you sing very well, your voice is very fresh, performance is very fresh. It’s good the way you are going”
Addressing the inevitable question of comparison with his father, Jay says that that is something to do only once he achieves the same level as his father. He also thinks it unfair to compare him with his one song or even ten songs to his father, rather preferring to be compared to his contemporaries if at all. “But, if somebody is comparing me with my father, then that’s a blessing which I was born with, so it’s amazing. I can’t stop it but I am just gonna love it”.
Jay’s official music video MINE is out on Youtube and other places. Stay tuned to Jay Ho ! The Jay Kumar Show and Jay Ho.com to keep posted on Jay’s music and more.
