Interview: Salman Mamu is happy that someone else in the family has come into music – Ayan Agnihotri

Apart from acting, Dabangg star Salman Khan is also very fond of music. Apart from giving voice to popular songs like ‘Hangover’ and ‘Jag Ghoomiya’, Salman has also released singles like ‘Pyar Karo Na’, ‘Tere Bina’. Now his/her nephew Ayan Agnihotri aka Agni has also stepped into music. Ayan, son of actor Atul Agnihotri and Alvira Khan, is in the news these days for his/her rap in singles like ‘Party Fever’ and ‘You Are Mine’.In your family, from father Atul Agnihotri to uncle Salman Khan, everyone is an actor, so how did you get inclined towards music instead of acting?
I have been fond of performance and arts since childhood. I enjoy music and dance. When I was in high school, I started writing poems. When I reached college, I also started writing raps and songs. Although I was studying acting and theater in London, but during the lockdown, my inclination towards music increased a lot. I also had a lot of songs which no one had heard. Actually, till a few years ago, no one at home knew that I was interested in music. I had not told my parents or family that I do music. I wanted to first believe in myself that I can make good songs. I can write good rap, I can sing. Therefore, I thought that I would keep this thing a secret and create a YouTube channel with a stage name and upload my songs there and see what the response of the people is. That is why I kept my stage name Agni because it is also the short form of my surname. But when my passion towards music increased a lot. Apart from rap, I also had romantic and other kinds of songs, so I told everyone at home and decided to do it professionally.

What was the story behind your first single Party Fever and how did you convince your uncle Salman Khan to be a part of it?
Actually, I have a small album of six songs which I have recorded. I was recording those songs with Aditya Dev. We had already recorded three songs of it. The recording session of the fourth song was at Aditya’s house, where I met Payal Didi (Dev). She heard my songs and she liked them. She felt a freshness in it, so there was a composition of hers which had not been cracked for a long time. She told me to try, so I said, I will definitely do it and I sent her a version the same night. The funny thing was that I did not get any response from her for five days, so I thought that she did not like it. But then when we met, she said that the rap was very good. This is how it started. Then she asked me to also rap in it, so I rapped. The music video was shot in Armenia. Then later we went to Mamu (Salman Khan) with a request to make a reel just for promotion that if he/she dances with us on the song, then the song will go viral. But Mamu liked the music video and the song, so he/she said to include him/her in the video.

Now you have collaborated with Salman in the new song You Are Mine. Does your love for music bring you both closer?
You Are Mine is Mamu’s song. he/she is the main artist in it. Vishal Mishra has composed it. he/she was working on it for a few days. When he/she heard my rap during Party Fever, he/she said that add a rap section in it too, so we added that later. Actually, both of us have different choices about music. I write and perform in English and he/she composes songs in Hindi, but our passion for music is the same, so there is an understanding and we respect each other’s choices. Now he/she has started doing hybrid songs, so this song was easy for me. I like that there is someone with whom I can talk about music. Anyway, Mamu is very cool, young. he/she knows every kind of music. he/she likes that there is someone else in the family who is working in music professionally.

Will you try your hand at acting now that you have learnt it or do you want to pursue music only?
I love performance, be it dance, song or acting, so if I get such an opportunity in the future, I will happily do it. Currently, my focus is on songs. My short album is ready. I am preparing to shoot its music video. There are six songs in it which will be released around January in the new year. Currently, I am trying to release one song every month, so my own singles will come one after the other.

Your Salman Mamu is considered a Dabangg, but he/she becomes like a child when he/she is with children. How is his/her bonding with you people?
he/she is very young at heart. We have an inside joke that in our family no one grows old after 20. Meaning no matter what the age is, no one grows old, so he/she is very cool with us.