Mumbai: Despite delivering hit songs such as ‘Ya Ali’ and ‘Dil Tu Hi Bata’, singer Zubeen Garg had distanced himself from Bollywood as the industry had ‘too much attitude’ and chose to work and die like a king in his home state of Assam.
When Zubeen first stepped into the industry in the 1990s, he ruled the charts with soulful songs.
But soon, the industry’s cold attitude left him disappointed and he preferred to return to his roots.
During a conversation with POP Pavelopedia earlier this year, Zubeen had shared, “Mumbai has more attitude, and to get rid of that, I asked them to come here. I will die here [in Assam] like a king. I still have a home in Mumbai, but I don’t like the chaos. It’s just too much.”
Zubeen further shared that he had openly defied the diktats of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) at a time when Assam was under their control.
“They told me, ‘You can’t sing Hindi or Bengali songs.’ I replied, ‘Who the hell are you? I don’t care.’ Then they threatened to shoot me. I said, ‘Okay, you shoot me, and I’ll shoot you’,” the singer had disclosed.
Recalling the price he had to pay for being defiant, the singer shared, “I was slapped by the police… by the army… But I told them, ‘One day, you’ll be in my security’.”
Saying that his choices were not because of arrogance but dignity, the singer had said, “I don’t have an attitude—it’s self-respect. I live here like a king. I always say, ‘A king should never leave his kingdom, because when the king leaves, he is no more’.”
Zubeen died at the age of 52 in Singapore while swimming without wearing a life jacket. Not just Assam, the entire country is mourning his untimely demise.
