Reels have the power to put your music in everyone's pocket: Papon

Time of India

02-05-2025

His Instagram bio reads, 'I am an ancient soul trapped in a young mind'. And in a chat with Bangalore Times, while on a visit to the city,
reflected on this duality. He said, 'Often, I feel like a young boy discovering new things and enjoying current trends.
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Yet, I'm also deeply rooted in generational values and virtues that set me apart from many of my peers.' Excerpts from a conversation with the Assamese musician and playback singer as he talks about staying true to honest music, his artistic philosophy and his observations on how music is being discovered in the digital age:
'Art is fundamentally about emotions'
In playback singing, there's a need to deeply connect with the emotions of the character and the narrative, and I think that brings out the essence of being an artiste.
An artiste can embody various emotions – all the rasas, as they say. We delve into all different kinds of feelings, perhaps in a way that differs from someone who isn't an artiste, because art is fundamentally about emotions. Over time, you learn how to connect with situations you might never have personally experienced, such as the emotions of a character in a film. You can quickly imagine what to evoke and how you're supposed to sound at that moment as that character.
I believe, someone who can latch onto emotions from their own life experiences or even something completely foreign to them, is what defines a good artiste. Ultimately, art is emotion.
'In the age of reels, getting reach is just a click away for artistes'
Today, due to Instagram plays very significant in how music is discovered. People even come across a reel and discover new music. It is rapidly becoming a platform for music consumption, it was initially intended for visual content.
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It has also got its limitations – the short duration, the vertical format, which, I think personally does take away from the viewing experience, especially when you consider how we naturally see the world in a wider aspect ratio, like in a cinema. But at the same time, it has just become the medium which takes your music to everybody's pocket. That's the biggest reach you can have. You can create something and bypass all the traditional channels like distribution and labels, and if your stuff is good, the world can see it.
It's a bit of a Catch-22 situation. But for now, this is the reality and it's good.
Bollywood singing was never my dream. I didn't really know what Bollywood was, beyond my family watching movies. I just accepted what came my way, embraced opportunities, and gave my best
- Papon
'I carry my parents' wisdom to always make honest music'
As an artiste, I want to be honest above all. It's what my parents (Assamese musicians Khagen Mahanta and Archana Mahanta) instilled in me. I was simply told to do honest music. I don't know exactly why my father said that, but he explained that whatever music I create – even if he couldn't fully understand it because sounds and generations change – it wouldn't matter as long as it was honest, from the heart to the heart.
He said, keep it simple, keep it honest.
'It's nice to see
regional music
being given more space'
I've always strived to highlight the richness of
Assamese music
because of my father. As an artiste with a vast repertoire, he understood both folk and modern music. He travelled, collected, and absorbed diverse music from different places and cultures, and that resonated with me too. So, as I travel, I also try to connect with other cultures and their music.
Phonetically, every language is different, and that itself is musical – the way a language is spoken. So, it's nice to see that regional music is gaining more popularity and there's more space for it.