MUMBAI: Ash King who is also known as Ashutosh Ganguly, has gradually gained a foothold in Bollywood. It all began with Ash getting a break in music maestro AR Rahman’s ‘Delhi 6’ album. The singer’s latest release happens to be ‘Baarish’ for ‘Half Girlfriend’ and this dreamy melody has brought him closer to the Indian hearts.

Released on 12 April on Zee Music, ‘Baarish’ is composed by Tanishk Bagchi, penned by Arafat Mehmood and Tanishk Bagchi, splendidly sung by Ash King.

Radioandmusic.com got the chance to speak to the ‘Baarish’ hit-maker, for whom singing in Hindi is always a learning experience.

“Baarish happened at the very last moment. Tanishk, who is also a friend called me one day; asked me to come to his studio and record for the track. English is my first language and then come Gujarati and Bengali, Hindi comes fourth. But, Arjun Kapoor’s character in the film, can’t speak English at all. Therefore, I was little hesitant to record, but I took it up. For me, it is a new experience every time I record a song, likewise singing ‘Baarish’, was also a learning experience,” stated the singer.

Interestingly, many top Bollywood singers recorded for ‘Baarish’, but the makers of the film liked the tone of Ash’s voice and thus, his voice made it to the album.

A devotee of Haimanti Sukla, also an admirer of Folk music, Gujarati folk, Bengali contemporary music, Ash stated that he likes music with vocals. “I am into vocals and I love the fact that I can connect with people through words.”

For Ash, singing in Hindi is not an easy victory, as it takes a lot of persistence to identify with the mood of the song, especially romantic numbers. We asked him how he keeps up the essence of any song without being familiar with that particular language. “I used to be very naive. Now, I put myself in the composers’ hands. What I can do is, to try my best to deliver the emotion of the song and give a personal touch. I believe, the personal touch is important as it makes you stand out. This was challenging; I did think that they were going to keep my voice and they did, said ash with a smile.

Produced by Balaji Motion Pictures, Mohit Suri, and Chetan Bhagat, starring Arjun Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, 'Half Girlfriend' is directed by Mohit Suri and is slated to release on 19 May.

Listen to the track: