Indian singer Anuv Jain on finding success without the Bollywood boost

What the report says

BBC Newsbeat reports that Indian singer-songwriter Anuv Jain is building a major audience with acoustic indie-pop songs, despite operating outside Bollywood’s dominant music system. The feature says Jain, originally from Ludhiana in Punjab, has become widely known for Hindi-language tracks about love, longing and heartbreak that have drawn hundreds of millions of views on YouTube, along with a large following on Instagram and Spotify.

Speaking backstage as he prepared for the final European dates of his first world tour, including a sold-out show at London’s Roundhouse, Jain said his focus is on making songs he likes and can imagine different listeners connecting with, rather than chasing numbers. BBC Newsbeat describes him as part of a growing group of independent Indian artists who release music on their own and rely less on film-industry backing.

The article also notes that Jain has had chart success with songs including Jo Tum Mere Ho and Afsos, his collaboration with AP Dhillon. He says he has been unusually selective about what he releases, though he now expects more new music soon. Jain added that he would be open to collaborations if his style stayed intact, and mentioned former One Direction singer Zayn Malik as one artist whose sound could fit his own.