New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) Singer Rabbi Shergill, the voice behind popular songs like “Bulla Ki Jaana” and “Tere Bin”, says his latest album “Avengi Ja Nahin” focuses on social issues like female foeticide, rights of the girl child and racism.
“Ballo”, one of the nine songs of the album, talks about the issue of pre-natal sex determination, Rabbi explained.
“Female liberation is guided by the patriarch and women are still manipulated,” said the singer, who is known for the Sufi influence on his music.
While the album’s title song “Avengi Ja Nahin” is dedicated to the girl child, “‘Ballo’ will suggest gender selection”, Rabbi told IANS.
Another song from the album, “Pagri Sambhal Jatta”, centres on racism and it stems from Rabbi’s experience in London. It also carries a whiff of the legendary Billy Joel song “We Didn’t Start The Fire”.
“When I was in London, since I was wearing a turban, people looked at me as if I would remove my shirt and just blow up myself,” he said. “I felt very small when I was in London, I had to explain a lot to people.”
The videos for the album were shot in Brazil, Italy and Mumbai.
Rabbi has also tried his hand at Bollywood. He composed music and sang for the film “Delhii Heights”.
So are Hindi films his final destination?
“Bollywood music is getting repetitive and there is a certain boundary to it. And it is not possible for one to fly very high in Bollywood music,” he said.
The singer’s first album “Rabbi” was released in 2005 and it went on to become a big hit.
Asked why it took him so long to come up with a new album, the singer admitted: “I am a lazy man and laziness was the only reason.”
He added that the music of “Avengi Ja Nahin” is “pretty straightforward” with guitar, bass and drums.
