A rather shocking piece of news has gripped the music industry and fans alike. On Tuesday, singer Arijit Singh took to social media and announced that he has quit singing. Yes, you heard that right. The maverick singer, who has given Bollywood some of its choicest hits, has called it off and signed out of the industry.
Taking to social media, he shared a thread and shared what prompted him to quit the industry and what was next after that.
He wrote, "Hello, happy new year to all. I want to thank you all for giving me so much love all these years as listeners. I am happy to announce that I am not gonna be taking any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey."
Arijit clarified that while he is stepping back from new playback assignments, he won't stop making music and will still complete some pending projects. He wrote, "I still have to finish some pending commitments and will finish them. So you might get some releases this year."
As fans speculated about the reasons behind his decision, Arijit wrote, "There is not one reason behind this, there are several reasons. Plus, I have been trying to do this for a long time. Finally, I have gathered the right courage. One of the reasons is simple—I get bored pretty quickly. That's why I keep changing arrangements of the same songs and perform them differently on stage. So here is the thing, I got bored. I need to do some other music to live."
Going back to Indian classical music
He added with candid excitement, "Another reason is I am excited to hear some singer come up and give me real motivation." When asked by a fan whether he was just playing with emotions by posting this, Arijit firmly replied, "Not at all, I never want to play with anyone's emotions."
He also assured fans that while he is stepping away from Bollywood playback singing, he will remain deeply connected to music, particularly Indian classical music. "I am going to go back to Indian classical music. I want to go back to making music. I want to start again," he wrote.
Sharing a glimpse of his future plans, he added, "I will make my own music. Will come up with my music whenever I am ready." With a touch of humour, he concluded, "Ab aayega maza!!"
Netizens flocked to social media and expressed shock and displeasure. Many were left unhappy and wondered why. One user wrote, "NEVER heard any singer taking retirement from singing. This is an exceptional decision. We should respect it. But why??"
Another wrote, "That's gonna be a big setback for the music industry."
A third user commented, "This is really sad. It's been a splendid experience listening to you."
Many alleged that after singing for Salman Khan's film, he had called it quits. Some joked that they were hoping that when Ranbir Kapoor, as Lord Ram, walks out of exile, the song would be played back by Arijit Singh.
About Arijit Singh
Arijit Singh started his career a decade ago with Mohit Suri's Aashiqui 2 and went on to deliver chart-topping hits in films like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Tamasha, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Airlift, and several others. Over the years, there has scarcely been a mainstream Hindi film without his voice in its songs.
Arijit's last song is Maatrubhumi from Salman Khan's upcoming film Battle of Galwan. This also marks the first track from the war drama, with music composed by Himesh Reshammiya. The song comes after Salman and Arijit ended their long-standing feud.
The decade-long rift between Salman Khan and Arijit Singh finally ended on Bigg Boss 19 Weekend Ka Vaar, where Salman addressed Arijit as a good friend, confirming that they are now on good terms and open to collaborating again.
What was the feud about?
The feud began in 2014 during an award show when Salman jokingly asked Arijit, "So gaye the?" (Did you fall asleep?). Arijit replied, "Aap logon ne sula diya yaar" (You guys put me to bed), which was taken the wrong way. This led to tension and rumours that Arijit's songs were removed from Salman's films, despite the singer's repeated apologies.
In May 2016, Arijit Singh posted a public apology to Salman Khan on Facebook, requesting him not to remove his version of Jag Ghoomeya from Sultan. In the note, he wrote, "I never insulted you... I tried so many times to apologise. Please don't remove the song I sang for Sultan. Let me retire with that song in my library." He later deleted the post, but the song eventually featured in the film.
After almost a decade, Salman publicly put the fight to rest by admitting the misunderstanding was on his part. During the weekend episode of his reality show, he said, "Arijit aur main bahut acche dost hain. Woh misunderstanding mere side se hui thi. Uske baad usne mere liye gaane bhi kiyeTiger 3 mein bhi aur ab Galwan ke liye bhi kar raha hai."
Let's take a look at some of Arijit Singh's songs that are pure gold.
