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Journalism of Courage
The power of going viral in the age of Instagram cannot be matched. If you are someone who looks at your phone first thing in the morning or uses the phone to avoid eye contact on the Metro ride to work, you must have stopped scrolling mindlessly after your introduction to the new viral song, Chor. Crooned by chartered accountant-turned-artist Justh, the song is breaking records.
Though Chor is the most viral song on Spotify India and globally and has crossed more than 1.5 million views on YouTube, Justh says getting recognition for his “art” was never his motive. The Delhi-based independent artist spoke to indianexpress.com over a Zoom interview about his newfound popularity on social media platforms and how he was made for art.
On his rare nom de guerre, the singer said he doesn’t believe in “stage” or “non-stage” names. “I think there is no such thing as a stage name or a non-stage name. Justh is only making tea. Justh is only having his food and Justh is only performing. So I don’t believe in this concept like this is a stage name and this is a non-stage name,” he told indianexpress.com.
He added that Justh is a “non-existent” word without any meaning. “It’s a new word in the universe. So, there is no meaning to it, but I gave meaning to it,” he said, refusing to reveal his real name.
The beauty of music and poetry is ambiguity. And any art meets its purpose through ambiguity and not definitions. Justh, who is inspired by Rabindranath Tagore and his works, is wary of sharing his state of mind while writing Chor. “I want the listener to have her/his own feeling around it, their own interpretation and their own meanings. And then, honestly, the kind of art that I have loved, the kind of poetry that I have loved and the kind of songs that I have really like loved, loved. I don’t think poets or authors never really told the world why they wrote what they did. They just wrote it and then it’s for the reader to assimilate it and be with it and create their own meanings,” he said.
“The thing with Chor specifically, and hopefully with my other songs also, is that I have a feeling people would relate to it on different meanings at different periods of their life. Like the song might mean one thing to you today and six months from here, the song might mean a completely different thing to you because that is the nature of the song in my opinion,” the singer added.
Featuring Justh, Chor has been shot by Prince Shah in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi. The video starts with the singer on a boat and takes the viewers through the streets of the city. “It was more about capturing the spirit of that space because for me, whenever I’ve gone to Varanasi, it’s difficult for me to explain the essence of the place. The aim was to just kind of capture that and not just go and shoot Banaras. You never see that access where there are guards and where there are people taking a dip in the Ganga etc,” he explained.
Speaking of his film background and creative vision, the singer said, “I’ve worked in movies for a limited time. So I have a certain visual aesthetic about how I want my music to feel, how I want it to look, and the kind of feeling it generates. So we had a lot of conversations, and I always had a feeling about doing the video in Banaras.”
As Chor is ruling Instagram, more than 150K reels have been created on the song since its release. Celebrities–including Madhuri Dixit, Sara Ali Khan, and Mouni Roy–and content creators are sharing their versions of Chor on the platform.
Take a look here:
Justh is grateful for the love and recognition he got through Chor. However, he sees things from a neutral perspective. Talking about his overnight fame, the singer said, “I feel happy that it’s reaching people. But also I have to say that I am the kind of personality who’s very calm about things. Who’s got like an approach to see things from a very neutral perspective.”
“I just see it as a validation. My vision and what I want to do with my art is very, very, extremely long term and I want to do a lot of new things with my music and want to bring a lot of new energies into the world with my music, so this is a positive sign for me that if this is received, so it’s a positive signal for me to just keep on moving on that path,” he said.
When asked if he is open to collaborating with Bollywood labels, Justh said he wants to make his own music and express his truth through his art. He said, “I am not thinking too far ahead in my life, but obviously there have been calls and interests. Primarily, my interest is not to go out and seek a Bollywood film or anything, because that is one of the reasons why I’m not staying in Mumbai. I am here to express my truth through my music.”
“But if something comes along the way and I love it, then I might consider it as well. I’m just going to go with the flow and see how life shapes up,” he continued.
Justh applauded Arijit Singh and expressed his admiration for the Bollywood singer. “I really like Arijit Singh. I think he brings a lot of truth in his art, especially in some of his songs he’s like really invested in the moment. He’s really in it. I really like his style and his purity with which he operates. You can see that he cares about whatever he’s doing.”
Independent music is finally getting the push it needs in India, giving artists the recognition they deserve. The DIY aesthetics added to indie songs is what has prompted music aficionados to resonate with the genre.
Speaking about the same, Justh, who got his first validation from a poem he wrote for the kid’s section of a newspaper, said, “We as a society have evolved now. I think we as a country are a bunch of highly intelligent people who have access to the best kind of art in the world and they want newer expression. They want truthful expression. So I think as a country and the population, young or old, because of the access to information, access to every sort of music, every sort of film, every sort of literature, everything out there and be it the best of content, people can see through now who is honest and who’s not.”
