MUMBAI: If you are brought up in 90’s or early 2000, you would not have missed on the song Aika Dajiba, composed by Avadhoot Gupte and sung by Vaishali Samant. The song had many firsts and changed the face for Marathi music industry. The first non-music Marathi song to feature on MTV, one of the only two music channels available then, had caused a rage at that time. The man behind tune, Avadhoot Gupte, found a solid standing with this massive hit. But there is much more to him than just Aika Dajiba.

“I am a hardcore Marathi Manoos at heart, and hence I thought of composing something Marathi oriented, because no matter wherever I went I only heard Punjabi music. Which is good, but we are no less. Marathi Dholki is as good as Punjabi Dhol.” Later he cut songs like, Meri Madhubala and Jai Jai Maharastra Maza, starring Urmila Matondkar and Vivek Oberoi.

Aika Dajiba rocked the charts, in times, when the ‘viral culture’ was yet to set in. “In those days, getting a Platinum Disc was a great feat and Aika Dajiba got that honour in no time. We can’t thank much Sagarika Music for showing that kind of faith in us.” shares Avadhoot.

Avadhoot was also a part of transformation of the industry, “It was a little difficult for me and everyone who came in that point of time. As we were a part of the transformation, things were changing. Digitisation was setting in, but the market was predominantly of compact discs. Also, to have a non-film music album and make it sell was a challenge. When a consumer would buy a CD for Rs 150-200, he would expect bouquet of good eight-nine original songs.”

He gradually became a name to reckon with and now is known for his trademark style in the industry. “When I sing for a film, the accountability is mostly with the directors or producers. That’s why when I produce my own album, entire creative responsibility is mine, as I want that freedom.” Avadhoot soon entered film-making and directed some noteworthy films like Zenda.

A household name today, Avadhoot is also known as a judge for many reality shows on regional channels. When asked about his views on the shows, Avadhoot explains, “I myself have come from reality show background. And many known names like Swapnil Bandodkar, Kunal Ganjawala, Shreya Ghosal, Sunidhi Chauhan are from reality show background. But it’s not that our careers wouldn’t have happened if not reality shows. At the same time, we can’t deny that these shows made our journeys simpler and gave us good platform.  Reality shows are like a knife in your hands and how you use it. You can slit a throat or cut an apple. Also, looking at the positive side, reality shows have taken music to each and every household. Where once only random songs would be played, today the audience in that demography is aware of good music and lot of the credit goes to reality shows. Yes, we can’t deny that some winners of these shows have been phased out.”

On the future on Marathi industry, Avadhoot says, “It is very bright. There was a time when Marathi youth would go to Hindi industry and if rejected there, they would come to their home industry. Now things are different, I have so many youngsters come to me, with an aspiration to sing/compose for Marathi films. Also, the content has been great last few years. If you see in the earlier Marathi reality shows, songs that were sung were mostly from 60s-70s. Now, there are songs that composed in last few years, that are been sung. This I think is a very healthy sign,” concludes the young at heart composer.