After office hours or on weekends, however, prepare to see a completely different side of him – the one who belts out covers of hit Bollywood songs at Indian restaurants and parties.
Get ready for “Bollywood Kahani”, which takes its name from the Hindi word for “story”.
Barani’s performances are high on entertainment, and even higher on value: instead of playing full versions of songs, the Malaysian-born singer performs specially chosen snippets of them, woven together into a seamless medley. He dubs this style “bite-sized music”.
“Essentially, it’s mashups of the greatest hits of Hindustani music from the 1950s up to mid-2000. Normally, in a Bollywood concert, you’d hear about 25 to 30 full-length songs. But with me you can hear up to 150 songs in a night,” Barani, 56, told FMT Lifestyle with a laugh.
“Most people don’t have the attention for full songs nowadays. During the musical interludes, they often drift off to their phones, resurfacing only when the singers’ voice comes back. I play short song snippets, about 60-90 seconds each, and that keeps listeners engrossed!”
The amiable Barani was in Malaysia for a few months for a family function: he also performed at a few venues here.
Music has always been a major part of Barani’s life. Growing up in the Shaw Flats, in the vicinity of Stadium Merdeka, his family lived in closely clustered conditions. This meant he woke up to a “symphony” every day.
“One neighbour was a Malay family, and they listened to Bollywood music early in the morning. Another neighbour listened to Tamil music. In my own home, my sister was a fan of the great actor Rajesh Kanna, whose singing voice was performed by Kishore Kumar,” Barani recalled.
“Every time there was a new movie by him out, my sister would go buy a record. So, I grew up surrounded by all kinds of music.”
Barani ended up pursuing journalism as a career: he worked at The Star and AFP here before moving to New York as part of Reuters in 2006.
Eventually, however, his passion for performing emerged: how it happened would make a fantastic Bollywood film scene. In November 2018, he accompanied his wife to her friend’s wedding anniversary.
While it was a fun event, Barani felt the need for some sort of tribute to the celebrated couple. Surprising even himself, he approached the deejay and requested a classic tune: Kumar Sanu and Sadhna Sargam’s “Jab koi Baat Bigad Jaaye”. Taking the mike, he sang his heart out to a minus one.
“As I began the song, everyone came to the floor to slow dance. And when the song ended, my life changed,” Barani quipped.
Impressed by his performance, the other guests invited Barani to perform at their parties. Soon, Barani was singing at Indian restaurants around the city, beginning with “Curry On” in New Jersey.
Much of his repertoire comprises evergreen tunes from superstars Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. Amazingly, Barani does not speak Hindi well, but this does not stop him from performing these tunes with passion.
He also hosts a weekly radio show, “Bollywood Retro Hour” on Malaysia’s RE-Wind.
Balancing this passion with career and family can be challenging at times, but Barani said he hopes to continue spreading the magic of his bite-sized music to as many people as he can.
He recalled a recent show, where he performed Tamil songs for the members of a Ceylonese association in Negeri Sembilan to raise funds for a building’s construction.
“Even at half time, people were coming up, telling me they loved what I was doing. Many stayed till the end of the show, even though it was late. And many of them were senior citizens,” Barani recalled fondly.
“To see an 80-year-old with a walking stick, making his way to the stage just to hold your hand and say ‘thank you’… it was such an honour, an enriching experience. Among all the gigs I’ve done, that’s my favourite.”