‘The journey has just begun’

Sheetal

When the song’s title is Obsession, one cannot help but obsessing over it! That’s how it is with singer Riar Saab’s Punjabi song, Obsession, which stole the limelight after actor Vicky Kaushal uploaded a video performing on the song. And soon, netizens went along and played their part in making it a viral sensation. With catch words like ucchiyan gaddiyan and jattiyan, the song has been played everywhere. On Saturday night the Obsession hitmaker Riar Saab performed at Zomaland, an annual food carnival by Zomato, at Chimney Heights, Zirakpur.

As he lip-synced to his fan-favourite songs for one hour performance at the event, the crowd cheered. Riar also paid tribute to late singer-songwriter Sidhu Moosewala by playing his song Levels. He shared on stage with the live audience, “It’s not possible to perform and not remember Sidhu baai.” Interestingly, the artiste shares an uncanny resemblance with Moosewala.

Born as Taran Singh Riar, and fondly called Tanu and Riar, he has been in the music industry for a long time. Earlier known by his stage name Frenzzy, he was part of music group Aavrutti, but later changed his stage name to Riar Saab. He explains, “I would say the name change has been lucky for me. Sikander (Kahlon) paaji told me that the name Frenzzy didn’t capture my true essence. It dissociated me from my personality as well as my culture. He said I should use my surname as my stage name as it’s unique. Saab came from how in villages people call anybody who resides in other cities and are visitors in their hometown.”

Having spent years in Mumbai, Riar says people are surprised to see him conversing fluently in Hindi and Marathi. For him language is no barrier and he can easily sing in Hindi and Marathi too. Riar, who started his music journey by rapping, is in no hurry to shed the image of a rapper. Singers like Sikander, Divine, and others have left an influence on him. He adds, “I was in the ninth standard when I first started to rap. I used to sing too but never formally took training. I am a self-taught artiste. My mother bought me a mic worth Rs 6000 when I started taking interest in music and it was a huge push for me to pursue my passion.”

Riar never lost hope even when things didn’t work for him. Signed by Gully Gang and introduced as Riar Saab in 2022 with the song Area 06, he owes his new-found success to his parents for believing in him.

The singer’ roots are in Gurdaspur, Punjab and he likes to spend time in his village Dhapai to observe and introspect which he says helps a great deal in making music. A pet lover, he has three dogs and two cats and loves to spend time being one with nature whenever possible. After Mumbai and Pune, he loves to perform in Amritsar. Ask him about his fashion game, and he swears by street style, staying true to his allegiance with the Gully Gang. He has recently dropped his debut EP, How I Love. For the next year, he hopes to bring more collaborations and singles for his fans.

The singer, who recently performed in the US and Australia, says, “It’s everyone’s dream to be participating in international music festivals, sing a song or two for Bollywood films and collaborate with big names. The journey has just begun. Let’s see where it takes me.”