missionkiawaazGetting an offer for a seat at the Nepal Idol Season 4 judge panel was not a surprise for Raju Dangal. The Idol franchise had already approached him in the first season. “I could not work with them back then due to my busy schedule,” says Dangal.
Yet Dangal was a household name in Nepali music much before the start of Nepal Idol in 2017. If you grew up in the 2000 and loved music, his ‘Timi Bina’ must have been on your playlist. It was a hit from Shoonya, his debut album released in 2012 and the best seller of that time. But the album’s evergreen songs didn’t come out of the blue.
“My first two songs were commercial failures,” he recalls. Back in 2008, he and MILAN NEWAR, Mana Shrestha, Prakash Neupane had collaborated on a pair of songs: ‘LAGCHA MAYA TIMRO’ and ‘SIRANMA PHOTO CHA’. This back-to-back failure made them part ways. Before the release of his solo album, Dangal changed his stage name to Prayas, in what became a one-man band.
“I never regret those unsuccessful projects that laid the foundation of my musical career,” says Raju Dangal, a native of Jhapa. After completing his SLC exams, he had come to Kathmandu with the primary goal of finishing higher studies and applying to go to the US. However, Raju Dangal ended up pursuing music. It was his elder brother Sunil Raju Dangal, a veteran theater artist, who helped him at the start of his musical career.
In 1997, the time between his failed songs and the first album, Raju Dangal started working as a librarian in Radio Sagarmatha. He then served as an RJ at the same station for 13 years. Even though he was already a pop star at the time, Raju Dangal says his association with the radio station changed him as a person, helping him become a better professional at a young age.
His second album, Alone, earned him more fame, with hits like ‘Maya Ko Bato’ and ‘Juneli raat’. Soon, demands for his concert-appearances, from both in and outside the country, went through the roof. “I would perform at three different cities in a single day,” he recalls the days he would perform at Bhairahawa in the morning, Biratnagar in the afternoon, and Kathmandu in the evening.
Raju Dangal had even worked in a tele-serial named ‘Lachhamaniya’ when he was in the seventh grade but had given up on his childhood dream of becoming a movie superstar because of the hassles with retakes. “But I fulfilled my dream to an extent by modeling in my music videos,” he says with a laugh. Besides singles and albums, Raju Dangal has recorded numerous hits as a playback singer, demonstrating his all-round skills.
These days, he is busy with shows, concerts, and of course, Nepal Idol. “I am enjoying the shoots as our team has good coordination,” he shares the new experience of being in an international franchise show. A long time back, he was also a judge in a reality show called Singing Stars. “I love this platform that helps both the judges and the contestants learn and grow together,” he adds.
Besides Nepal Idol, Raju Dangal is working on his upcoming album Tilasmi Kathmandu. He says the album will be a tribute to Kathmandu city, which gave him all the things he wanted in his career. He wants to connect with each and every resident of Kathmandu and is currently working on the album’s last song in which he will be using the Newari language.
Raju Dangal is upbeat about the future of the Nepali music industry. However, he laments some people’s obsession with fame, which will take them nowhere. “To be a successful singer, you just have to practice hard and respect the seniors,” he says.
Bhupendra Singh Sonwal
