Why Gen-Z loves Himesh Reshammiya and his music

It was a tandoori night Himesh Reshammiya fans reading this will know why it makes perfect sense to use this phrase to describe his recent concert in the city as part of his Cap Mania TourRight from the venue layout mdash which had sections labelled as Badass Pit Jhalak Zone Hookah Bar Lounge Suroor Zone Tere Naam Zone and Tandoori Nights Zone mdash to a giant baseball cap near the stage Reshammiyarsquos branding was on pointSoon after the concert Instagram was flooded with posts by Millennials and Gen Z donning caps dancing and singing along to the ldquobadassrdquo performerShayan Mondal and friend don caps specially monogrammed with ldquoHRrdquo for Reshammiyarsquos concertldquoI think this was one of the best concerts because we had no expectationsrdquo says Dolly Vaswani a 28yearold chartered accountant who travelled from Pune to Mumbai to witness Reshammiya live ldquoI remember spending so much time and energy on Coldplay tickets so I had high expectations from their concert But Himeshrsquos concert was so unexpectedrdquoWhat Vaswani particularly loved was that Reshammiya had a strong presence on stage and was constantly interacting with the crowd ldquoIn that moment he did not seem like a big artiste He was talking to everyone and having fun We were all there rooting for him as fansrdquo she addsShayan Mondal a 26yearold vlogger has grown up listening to Reshammiyarsquos numbers Hersquos always regretted not being able to attend the music composersingeractorrsquos concert in his hometown Kalyani near Kolkata When the Mumbai event was announced Mondal decided he wouldnrsquot miss it ldquoNone of his compositions are boringrdquo he says ldquoHis music has always been original groovyhellip something you can dance to Now Bollywood music is only remixesrdquoNarendra Kusnur Dolly Vaswani and Amit GurbaxaniMondal adds that the concert experience was better compared to others ldquoIt was better organised we had more access to hydration stations and washrooms The costumes the fireworks lasers mdash all of it added to the experiencerdquoVaswani says that it was the first concert where she saw everyone in the crowd enjoying and singing along ldquoWe all knew the lyrics Initially It would feel like we didnrsquot know the song but Himesh would start singing and suddenly you could remember the lyrics and sing along It was the first concert where I saw vendors and even the police dancing and having funrdquoAll through the 2000s Reshammiya has composed and sung bangers like Aashiq Banaya Aapne Jhalak Dikhla Ja Teri Meri Kahani and his debut album Aap Kaa SurroorThey are still imprinted in our collective memoryAs Gen Z grew up around a time when all the hit songs were Reshammiyarsquos it makes sense that this generation is drawn to him ldquoFor younger Millennials and older Gen Z he represents a more innocent timerdquo says freelance music journalist Amit GurbaxaniBut this level of admiration and adoration for Reshammiya feels new For the longest time he has been a polarising figure Hersquos given Bollywood some iconic pop numbers but he has also been widely mocked for his nasal voice and acting skillsHis latest film Badass Ravikumar which released in February cashed in R1378 crore at the box office It also recovered its R20crore budget through music sales and rights deals before its theatrical release It might not qualify as a blockbuster but it sure was a sleeper hitAnd Gen Z revered the film Sunday middayrsquos Gen Z writer Spandana Bhura reviewed the film and thoroughly enjoyed it Primarily because this generation enjoys brain rot Bhura wrote ldquoThe dialogues were without a doubt my favourite part of the film It became clear to me why the production team of the film felt the need to add lsquobadassrsquo as a prefix to Ravikumar Every line delivered by Reshammiya was absurdly impactful to the point of being unintentionally geniusrdquoListen closely to the chatter around Reshammiya and it seems like hersquos cracked the code to appeal to the younger generations ldquoHersquos almost become like a king of cringe Hersquos owning itrdquo says Gurbaxani ldquoIt seems like he realised that this is what I represent and what people like me for so let me just own it Hersquos doing it in a selfaware manner and amping up the ridiculousness of it all because he knows that people are not coming to watch him seriously They are coming to have a good timerdquoThere is ample proof of Reshammiyarsquos selfawareness At his concert in Mumbai he had the crowd laughing and hooting when he asked ldquoRegular gaaoon ki naak se gaaoon Should I sing in my regular voice or my nasal voicerdquoldquoNaak se gaao Sing from the noserdquoThe fact that Reshammiya called this the ldquoCap Mania Tourrdquo after his signature look and also handed out a few free caps at the beginning of the concert goes to show that hersquos cashing in on everything his critics have previously picked on Gurbaxani puts it well ldquoHersquos very much feeding into itrdquoIndiarsquos bestselling artiste no capDespite what critics have said about him Himesh Reshammiyarsquos popularity has always been off the charts The ldquonasal singerrdquo claims to hold the record for Indiarsquos bestselling album of all time Aap Kaa Surroor was released in June 2007 and claims to have sold 55 crore copies worldwide No other Indian icons have managed to come closeGlobally Michael Jacksonrsquos Thriller holds the highest record at 7 crore copies sold followed by ACDCrsquos Back in Black and Whitney Houstonrsquos Bodyguard tied at 5 crore in sales So yes Reshammiya has the secondhighest album sales in the world And we have rarely acknowledged thisBesides Reshammiya also made history as the first Indian to perform at Wembley Stadium in 2006ldquoHis music was clutterbreakingrdquo says music journalist Amit Gurbaxani ldquoIn the 1990s there used to be all these Govinda songs and they had this kitschy aesthetic And I think Himesh was very much in that kind of space So his songs just took offrdquoNarendra Kusnur freelance music journalist says ldquoAs a composer he knew the pulse of the market He was making music for people in the interiors and thatrsquos why people from everywhere were humming singing and identifying with his musichellip Then suddenly he started singing and thatrsquos where all the criticism started because he had this nasal voicerdquo