Before emerging as a huge social media influencer, Sumonto Mukherjee has navigated the music industry through reality shows like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs, Rising Star and The Voice. Having received formal training in the Hindustani Classical artform, Sumonto established a raving social media presence when he began uploading his covers on Instagram, one of them being ‘Saiyaan’ that was originally crooned by Kailash Kher.
Ever since then, there has been no turning back for him. The multi-faceted singer-composer skyrocketed with back to back viral covers such as Tum Tak, Iktara, Piya O Re Piya, Tose Naina and In Dino to name a few. On top of that, Sumonto has collaborated with prominent faces from the industry including Aparshakti Khuranna, Riteish Deshmukh, Jamie Lever and Dhanashree Verma Chahal.
Sumonto Mukherjee is now all set to make his playback debut with the Malayalam film Valatty, a one of a kind romantic tale between two dogs, helmed by Devan and featuring Kalesh Kalakkodu and Sanju Sanichen in prominent roles. In an exclusive interview with News18 Showsha, Sumonto Mukherjee who has amassed over 150 million views on Instagram talked about lending his voice for the film, his journey as a musical influencer, his upcoming projects and more.
Here are the excerpts of the interview:
Tell us something about your playback debut with Valatty? What kind of song is Saathi Mere Saathi? And how did you land up the opportunity?
Saathi Mere Saathi is a romantic duet which is totally inclined towards the theme of the movie which is love and innocence. It has been a huge opportunity for me to sing the hindi version of the song with one and only Shweta Mohan ji. So how i landed for valatty debut was totally me being viral on instagram and was spotted by Mr Varun Sunil sir ( from Masala Coffee band ) who also composed the whole Valatty music reached out to me and gave me the song
Making your debut and that too with an acclaimed singer like Shweta Mohan, were you nervous or intimidated? If yes, how did you overcome it and since it’s a romantic track, how did you guys evoke that chemistry in your vocals?
To be exact, i was excited with the process of going ahead with the song since singing opposite shweta mam and under guidance of varun sir it was more of a learning experience for me which would surely help me for a longer run and when you have such a beautiful team working together, the chemistry came out automatically since we all are a group of animal lovers.
Talking about your journey as an influencer, can you recall that one song that sort of initiated this trajectory towards garnering the sort of visibility a creator would envision for themselves? How did that one song change your course for good?
I can never forget the song Saiyyan which has been originally sung by kailash kher is the one which got super viral on ig reel last year which garnered a total of 20million views and over one lac people made their reels on my audio. Not only this made me viral, it also got me the opportunity to recreate Saiyyan in my version for Sony Music Label which is streaming on every digital platform right now.
Also i would like to add about ishq sufiyana cover which i posted in December 2022, which is now one of the most watched music reel in india having a total view of 77 Million views and over 132k reels were made on the song.
What did it entail for you becoming an overnight sensation all over the country? How did it transform you personally as well as professionally?
For me its not becoming a sensation over night moreover it has been a life long process of learning, practicing my art and having the support from my family to pursue what i dreamt for as a kid. But of course, it feels good when your work has audience to listen to and also it comes with a big responsibility to keep making better content each day and trying to make a music friendly environment where we push young artists to post more on social media so that they get the listeners too for their music.
Coming to that, of course your journey before becoming a music influencer must have had its fair share of challenges, at times when you might be feeling dejected or demotivated, what were some of the things that kept you determined and close to that dream?
Being from a small town with having very few opportunities to grow surely tested my patience for struggle. I think every creative field requires a huge amount of personal connection to the work they do. I like every normal human being went through with tough times where it was hard to make music and to see a future in it but quitting never came in my mind. I kept writing songs on my situations and kept composing them and finally now those tracks would be out one by one in the form of Singles.
Speaking about the upcoming singles, what do you have planned for your listeners? What kind of songs should they expect to listen from you? And will it be released independently or as a part of EP/LP?
I have been making acoustic covers and songs which have been emotional so it makes quite sense that my singles would be purely based on the music which potrays my true self to the audience and telling about the genre right now would be a little early. We are still deciding on the distribution part but Originals are coming very soon.
As opposed to the notion that a successful singer is someone who playbacks for Bollywood, do you think that perception is slowly changing with the rise of independent music in India? And has that changed your priorities in any way?
I believe that music has evolved a lot since a few decades. Yes, the definition of success has absolutely changed. This is also true for anything, that evolution is bound to happen. So similarly when it comes to the music industry, in this day and age, all forms of music are being appreciated and more upcoming musicians are being promoted and encouraged to bring something new to the table. At the same time, the classics of the old time have their own undeniable charm and their own essence. My priority at the moment is to create music that touches the souls of listeners across the globe.
Tell us something about your collaboration with Aparshakti Khurana, Riteish Deshmukh, Jamie Lever and other influencers and your experience with them?
Working with them has been nothing less than a dream come true. They’re stars in the truest sense, not just because of the idea of fame attached to their name, but due to the humbleness and excellence with which they practice their craft. My experience while working with people in the industry has given me a whole new perspective about how talent is not just what you’re born with, but something that you have to hone everyday through small but significant efforts. It’s always a pleasure for me to work with people who are not just good at their craft, but are also amazing human beings.
For anyone wanting to create their space on Instagram like you did with your covers, what are some of the things they should keep in mind while cultivating their engagement? What should they do to garner more visibility?
For anyone who is starting out on Instagram or any other social media platform, i would strongly suggest them not to do it just to get views or cultivate streams but to put out something which makes them different and stand out. In the beginning there would hardly be in any views but eventually with being consistent the engagement gets better provided if you are true to your art and not trying to over do it just for the easy viral. Having patience, working hard and most importantly being consistent is the only key to win hearts on social media.
What has been your most memorable tour? Recall some memory from your tours that really stuck with you? And what are special elements you include in your live shows?
Going on shows with the team gives a lot of perspective into growing more as an artist while learning from the different experiences that we have together. What stands out for me while doing shows is the ability to create a unique experience for our audience and making lots of memories of fun, excitement and joy through our interactive engagements throughout the show. Every audience has something unique to offer as well, and we like to spread our love of music wherever we go.
Apart from your album and the upcoming song, what are your other plans and projects in the long run?
Apart from the current projects, i am going to focus more on upgrading my digital content and push more on other social platforms.
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