Tuesday night saw a single announcement by Arijit Singh breaking the internet: he is going to step back from playback singing. In a series of tweets done from an X handle which has long been speculated to be his, and then an Instagram post from his official handle, he shared, “Hello, Happy new year to all. I want to thank you all for giving me so much of love all these years as listeners. I am happy to announce that I am not gonna be taking any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey.”
The industry and the fans were naturally left shocked. But when HT City spoke to several people close to the singer, they said things aren’t as they seem.
A source tells us, “Arijit is going to be busy with his debut film as a director. He’s been very passionate about it for long, and that required his time and efforts. Among the flood of offers, he wouldn’t have been able to do it. He will complete his director duties. This is more like a break for a year or so.”
The debut film is said to star Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s daughter Shora.
Arijit further clarified in the tweets that he won’t stop making music. “Just to be clear that I won’t stop making music.” When a fan asked him to “justify your inappropriate decision”, he replied, “Justify my inappropriate decision!!?”
In another tweet, he added, “I still have to finish some pending commitments, will finish them, so you might get some releases this year.”
Reacting to his decision, a fan said, “This is a Virat Kohli test retirement level of shock.” A person wrote, “As he has said, he will be making music, but as a vocalist, he won’t be available. Should’ve selected only a few songs to sing, but it’s his call. I wish him the best.”
