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From Nepal to Bollywood Balladeer

Binod Dahal has the whole “pop star in the making” package. Tall and handsome with a rich honey dusky voice, he also has the requisite carefree indifferent cool that is hard to resist.

At 22, he’s well on his way to an impressive career as a singer of cover songs, original compositions, and Nepalese folk and pop songs.

Born in Katmandu, Binod carries on the family tradition of musical talent. His grandfather composed and played music for the harmonica – a harmonica he bought mail order from Germany. Binod starting singing as a toddler, blessed with the immediate ability to memorize and sing songs. During his teens Binod sung mostly for his own pleasure. In high school, among Binod’s collection of friends who were breaking into the music recording industry, all were impressed by his ability to hit the notes perfectly. Binod was encouraged to hone his talent to “naturally sing well—like professional singers” and he began taking classes in Classical Eastern music. He found that he could do it. As he says, “I had the music in me. It’s like automatic.”

 
“The international collaboration made Bollywood movies bigger and moved the interest in Bollywood west. That’s when people starting appreciating it.”

In short order Binod was doing commercials – he fondly recalls a washing detergent commercial for radio, and another where he played an old “grandpa” in a cartoon voice over. He began dubbing Bollywood songs, from Hindi into Nepali, for audiences at home. During the next four years Binod made the move to working full-time in the music business in Nepal and began working regularly for the movie industry as a playback singer. To expand his repertoire and experience Binod is currently in the States attending school and planning to make his mark in Bollywood to move his career to the next level. “If you want to be a playback singer in Bollywood, you have to sing all kinds of songs. You have to be versatile.” 

The crossover popularity of the Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire brings the culture of the subcontinent, and India in particular, into the spotlight. Binod remarks that Slumdog Millionaire is a true portrait of the conditions of poverty, especially children living in poverty, in Mumbai. Binod has read and seen for himself the situations and conditions that are illustrated in the movie – “Danny Boyle captured the real part of India.” Not surprisingly, Binod’s most requested and popular song that he performs is the Oscar winning hit from the movie, Jai Ho which comes at the end of the film and is a Bollywood style music and production number.

”In Bollywood movies the burden is on the composer.”

Here are some samplings of Binod Dahal’s work. This song, Raat le Bolaya (Night) is written, composed and sung by Binod. It has flute and other instruments and a typical Nepali musical flavor. Binod translated the lyrics into English for us:

The sky is calling me,
While everybody else is sleeping,
The stars are having a meeting in the sky.

Look how beautiful the sky is ,
I  don't wanna take my  eyes off that
Look how playful  the wind is ,
You don't wanna leave it and go...

The second song is entitled Kal Ho Naa Ho (The time that is here may not be tomorrow). It is sung in Hindi.

Binod is currently cutting an album, attending engineering school, and performs for live audiences in the Tri-State area. His plan is to earn his degree and devote the next two years to studying music. He is also beginning preproduction on his first music video.

 
“Very few make it in Bollywood, I’ve been lucky a lot of times – there have been a lot of people to push me. Let’s see where I go.”

Music and Lyrics copyright 2004, Binod Dahal. All rights reserved.