HomeEntertainmentArijit Singh's retirement is a 'brutal slap' to Bollywood clone culture, and...

Arijit Singh’s retirement is a ‘brutal slap’ to Bollywood clone culture, and how Shaan predicted it a year ago | Bollywood News

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4 minutes of readingBombayJanuary 29, 2026 04:11 pm IST

After singer Arijit Singh announced earlier this week that would move away from the playback songThe atmosphere has been one of collective disappointment. The news came as a heartbreak to Hindi film music listeners, and even more so to Arijit’s fans. Over the last decade, it was difficult to find a major Hindi film that didn’t feature his voice in some form. Interestingly, this dominance of Arijit in the music industry is not a new observation. Veteran singer Shaan had pointed this out a year ago during a conversation with Bollywood Bubble, where he spoke at length about how composers and producers are increasingly gravitating towards Arijit, or singers who sound like him.

“In the recent past, of course, Arijit gets most of the good songs. Nowadays, even among composers, I think there is a certain insecurity in music because the business has become big and it’s also about numbers. So people tend to bring in a big name that guarantees a certain stature to the song, and they push for it. I find it a little sad because, at the end of the day, there are so many fantastic and original voices with their own styles. But now, whoever it is Even if you get the chance to singing, I have also said it before, try to sound like Arijit.”

Shaan continued to question this growing culture of musical “clones,” while clarifying that his criticism was not directed at Arijit himself. “He’s doing his thing and it’s fantastic, but why the clones? Do your own thing. If you can’t get it, at least people try to get a closer sounding voice. I feel like this comes from a kind of insecurity, people aren’t willing to take risks. You’ve made a great song, it’s a fantastic setup: get a great voice and let him sing it in his own style and space.”

Arijit Singh said he was bored

In retrospect, such creative monotony may also have contributed to Arijit’s decision to take a step back. After years of lending his voice to countless films, the singer may have been feeling creatively exhausted. On his private X account, Arijit addressed his decision and revealed that it was not an impulsive choice.. “There is no single reason behind this, there are several reasons and besides I have been trying to do this for a long time. I have finally gathered the right courage.”

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Arijit spoke more openly about his creative restlessness and spoke candidly about his need for change. “One of the reasons is simple: I get bored pretty quickly, so I keep changing arrangements of the same songs and performing them on stage. So here’s the thing: I got bored. I need to make other music for a living.”

The singer also expressed his desire to make space for new voices in the industry, noting that his decision may have as much to do with the future of Hindi film music as it does his own journey. “Another reason is that I’m excited to hear a singer come out and give me real motivation,” he added.

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