B Praak dedicates National Award to fans

MUMBAI: B Praak recently won the National Award as Best Playback Singer for his track "Teri mitti" in the Akshay Kumar-starrer 2019 film "Kesari". He calls the win a blessing and expresses gratitude.

"It feels absolutely amazing as I never thought that I would one day get a National Award. It definitely makes me feel blessed to have got it. It's all due to God's grace," B Praak told IANS.

Recalling superstar Akshay Kumar's reaction after listening to the song for the first time, the singer said: "I remember the first time I dubbed the song, Akshay Kumar sir called to congratulate me and conveyed how the song had touched his soul and appreciated how beautifully it was sung. I'll never forget his words where he said, you have sung the best song of my life. Hearing this, I was left speechless. That day I truly realised that this song would stay in my heart and this world forever."

B Praak's reaction on winning the National Award is laced with emotion, too. Asked who he would dedicate the award to, the singer replied: "Definitely to my fans! They have always been one of my greatest support systems and are my constant inspiration. It's their continued blessings and love that helped me reach such heights of success and today has led me to receiving a National Award."

About the current trend of remixes raging in Bollywood, he said: "I think the growing domination of remixes offers not only newer generations of listeners an opportunity to enjoy classics with a modern beat, but also older listeners a newer dimension to enjoy the nostalgic feel. So, if we see many remixes dominate lately, I think it is because they are being enjoyed by people."

The conversation then moved to the Punjabi pop music scene, where B Praak is an extremely popular name.

"The genre has come a long way from folk tunes to a defining tone of feel-good and vibing music, which is one of the reasons why it is growing immensely across not only India but the world," he said.

The singer recently collaborated with the music streaming ap Spotify. Talking about the same, he shared: "Streaming platforms such as Spotify encourage artistes like me to pursue our art and develop the sound of Punjabi Pop. Also, in today's times when we can't meet our fans, the platform has helped me engage with people across countries and cultures."