Meet Zee Music's artist Poojan Kohli whose second song Dil Haara should be out any day now

When you want something, and I mean really want something, the universe conspires to help you get it. This holds true for Vizag-based artist, Poojan Kohli. When he started out, all the Punjabi wanted to do was sing. He formed Vizag's first fusion band, Yuga which gave him that platform. Then he wanted to dip his toes into the world of playback when Music Director Sricharan Pakala approached him to sing for KISS. After this followed a string of assignments, including his upcoming romantic number for actor Raj Tharun's next venture.

Hungry for more, he then wanted to pursue independent music and released his first single, Chal Mahiya on July 31 with Zee Music Company. But was he done with that? Of course not! Now, he wants to sing for the Bollywood music industry. "Why not yaar? I am a Zee Music artist now, the guys behind Dangal. There could be an opportunity waiting for me," says Kohli, confidently. And now that Kohli has asked for it, we are sure the universe will conspire to make that happen.

Right waves: Kohli's first song with Zee Music, Chal Mahiya

And as his first single plays on our TV screens, Kohli is excited about his next. Just two months after Chal Mahiya, the romantic poetry-in-a-song number (the video of which the Punjabi singer starred in as well), his next, Dil Hara, another collaboration with Zee Music, is slated to release any day now. The song, which has a Kabira-esque (from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani) vibe, is quite different from his first venture, says Kohli. While the song is more instrumental, the video is story-based and has been shot in various locations around Hyderabad, from the Old City to a basti. The music director is Sanket Sane and the video is written and directed by Malik Ram (director of Naruda Donoruda and Pelli Gola)

Travelling and singing are the good parts of this life. But when you have to wait to sing, then it’s tough. There was a two-to-three-month gap between my first and second song, which was tough to get through

Poojan Kohli

But was he excited about facing the camera again? "Excited? Did you see my first video? I’m not even looking at the camera! I told my director, 'Yaar, mujhe acting-vacting nahi aati (I don't know how to act),” he says and laughs. But since he’s featuring again in his second video, he must be doing something right, we reckon. "I have to feature in my videos to show that I’m the one who is signing na," he says, admitting that the camera still makes him feel uncomfortable.

Right feeling: To get the feel of the song when he sings in Telugu, Kannada or Tamil, Kohli ensures he understands the translation of the song so that he can infuse it with the right feelings

But music — that's the world he lives in. It plays in his head all the time and is an integral part of his life. He used to hum when in school and his friends encouraged him to sing, "out of jest or genuine encouragement, I still don't know," and he still wonders. He used to lock himself in his room, listen to the ghazals of Ghulam Ali and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and record his own voice to get better. He is self-taught, but as he shuttles between Mumbai, Hyderabad and Vizag, he tries to take formal training classes. The multilingual singer has no intention of stopping now and hopes to bring back the melodies of the 90s through his music.