Popular Punjabi singer Harrdy Sandhu likes to stay away from competition as he feels it will shift his focus from what he likes to do.
He made his debut in 2012 as a singer and earned a spot in the Punjabi pop music space.
Asked if he sees anyone as a competitor, Harrdy told IANS in a telephonic interview: "If you will get into a competition, you will stop doing things that you want to do and you will start thinking of things like how to get ahead of others. I don't think we should get stuck in a competition."
"Whatever work you do, it should always be better than your previous one. You should put effort on yourself."
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This is also one of the reasons why he likes to engage more in making his own singles rather than churning out Bollywood songs one after the other.
"If I work on my single, I put effort in every way possible. But when I sing for a Bollywood film, there are restrictions like I have to sing in a particular way. There are situations in films, so I need to sing according to the situation.
"Now, I feel that I will not do Bollywood just for the sake of it. If there is good music, I will definitely do it," said the singer, who has sung for Hindi films like "Tum Bin II" and "Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se".
He has one more in the pipeline.
"It is a peppy dance number. I am in talks for more films," said the "Naah" hitmaker.
Now, he has got the nation dancing to his song "Kya baat ay", which brings back the successful combination of lyricist Jaani, composer B Praak and Harrdy. Together, they have given hit songs like "Naah", "Backbone" and "Soch".
Like their previous chartbusters, "Kya baat ay" is also winning hearts. The song has now crossed 40 million views on YouTube.
How important are numbers for him?
"I guess it is important, but when we go and perform live... that's when we get to know if it has done well or not," he said.
He has sung back-to-back dance numbers. Doesn't he fear getting stereotyped?
"It's not like I prefer one genre of music. I like good music that is made well. I agree that recently the focus has been slightly more on dance numbers, but I am open to doing everything.
"I don't want to be stereotyped because I will get stagnant."
Asked about his journey in showbiz so far, he shared he is "more focussed, dedicated and happier".
He also did a film for money at one point of time.
"I liked some of the scripts of movies and I did them. But in the beginning of my career, there were other reasons also for taking up a film as an actor. When you enter the industry, you have to struggle.
"You don't get shows and money is less. So for money, I did one movie. I have listened to so many scripts now, but I will not do them unless and until I get a great one," said the "Yaaran Da Katchup" actor.
He isn't sure what kind of scripts he is looking for, but if given a chance to play a cricketer on screen, he will take it up.
"I will (do it)... 100 per cent," said the fan of the sport.
He also feels that a good singer can act as well.
"A good singer, who can express lyrics through his voice, can deliver dialogues and act as well. Acting is a feeling. If you can feel, you can act. I suppose acting comes with singing," said Harrdy.
Right now, he is looking forward to a tour in India and abroad along with a new single.
"I am working on my next single. I will most probably drop it within two months," he said.
What's it on?
"Let it be a surprise," he replied.
(Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at natalia.n@ians.in)
--IANS
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