After creating waves with his Haryanvi song "Chull", which is now part of the forthcoming film "Kapoor and Sons", Haryanvi singer and rapper Fazilpuria is keen to promote his birthplace Haryana and says that he will sing in his native language as long as he works.
"I am promoting Haryanvi music in Bollywood. Even in my upcoming projects -- be it with any Punjabi singer or any other, my part in the song will always remain in Haryanvi. I will sing in Haryanvi for as long as I work because I want to bring my language onto a bigger and stronger level," Fazilpuria told IANS.
Fazilpuria, whose real name is Rahul Yadav, says the doors for Punjabi music were opened a long time ago in Bollywood, but there's still some time before Haryanvi songs become mainstream in the Hindi film industry.
"For Punjabi (songs), Bollywood was open. It is difficult for Haryanvi songs. Nobody was preferring songs from Haryana. I tried promoting it and somwhere, I think my efforts have been a little fruitful," he said.
Asked about the reason why he feels Haryanvi songs have been sidelined, Fazilpuria said: "Maybe because people have not done that good a job... When Yo Yo Honey Singh sang in Haryanvi ('Party all night'), people liked the song. The song was a hit. So if someone does good work, people listen and appreciate."
How did he get his stage name - Fazilpuria?
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"In Haryana, there is a small village called Fazilpur. It is near Gurgaon... That is my village. I thought if I am promoting Haryana, I should start from my own village. So that is how I came up with my name," he said.
Fazilpuria, who has now set foot in Bollywood with the peppy "Chull", is not worried about the "visibility" that he would get from the song, which is featured on actors Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt. But he is glad that he is now popular in the industry.
"I'm happy that my name Fazilpuria has become prominent, and also that my song is a part of Bollywood. So for me, that is enough. I am happy because this was the first song that I made without any experience and it is now a part of the film," he added.
After "Chull", the crooner has worked on two more songs "2 many girls" and "Party by Fazilpuria" -- both party songs.
But with the 1990s music coming back into the scene, does he fear the party song genre would fade?
"No, I don't think that party songs will be sidelined. Parties keep happening, and for parties, you need such songs... but new at the same time," he said.