Candid Talk with Sarun (The Uglyz)

By Preity Aacharya
Photos: Dipankar Kasaju

What's the latest talk of the town? If you are into talking or just listening you may have already guessed. "Uglyz", their album "Rush", the song "Audai Jadai" and its music video is what the whole country is talking about. Its time to fly high for young and talented artists of Uglyz - Sarun, Sudip and Sandesh..

In fact, the channels have been airing Uglyz’ video more than 4,5 times during the day and coming to the album song, “Audai Jadai” has instantly climbed up the charts. But the work wasn't a piece of cake for them. During an exclusive conversation with CyberNepal, Sarun, the vocalist of the band talks about the band, their music, the video and his personal life.

Tell us about the band's history. How did ‘Uglyz’ come into existence?

Sudip and I are schoolmates and we had our band during the school days. We were 4 members in the band …Sudip, Deepesh, me and Rakin….We used to perform for school competitions and always stood first…..(he smiles)
The band was established in 1995.. I was in the 8th grade then.
After SLC, I had to leave for Sydney for my further studies. After returning, I hunted for the band members and now we are officially 3 people in the band.
Sudip, me and Sandesh…. Guitarist, vocalist and violinist.
There are other 3 members in the band…bassist (Deepesh), drummer (Poojan)and keyboardist (Sachin).

The big gossip is when there are good looking members in the band, why did you name yourselves as “Uglyz”?

Actually, there’s a story behind it. Sudip and Rocking’s brother used to have a band named “the Ugly guys”. We used to practise with them and people used to say….see! the junior uglyz are here…Since we didn't’t have any name for the band, we just gave ourselves the name ‘Uglyz’.

Which artists you guys grew up listening to?

Hmmm… GNR, Nirvana, Collective soul, U2. etc.

Can you tell us about any moment that inspired you to sing?

Well! I sang for the first time on the stage when I was 5 years old. My parents used to work in the Agricultural Development Bank and during the annual function day, I told my parents that I wanted to sing. They first denied. Then Ram Thapa, the composer saw me insisting and he let me sing the children song.

When did you first take a guitar in your hand?

It was when I was in the 4th grade. I don’t remember the exact day.

What inspired you to get into music?

It’s actually my family's influence….My dad’s a drummer and my mom’s a singer. Also because of Sudip whom I had a good working combination with.

How was the experience doing the first album? Do you think this’ll help you for the further projects?

I had thought that it would be very easy ….like we used to compose and then sing.. but recording the song and singing inside the studio is a real difficult job.

I took 3 months to sing the song ‘Audai Jadai’ because I wanted everything to be perfect… the pronunciation, everything. I think this is surely gonna’ help for our further projects.

Describe the song writing process for “Audai Jadai”.

Actually, it’s written by a Japanese friend of mine. I’d already done the composition work and she helped me put the lyrics into it. It was written in 2002. I took a month class to sing the song….
Everyone liked the melody so I translated it into English and later on, Jems Pradhan gave the Nepali version to the lyrics.

So what’s your next schedule for the album promotion?

We’re planning to do concerts in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Dharan. This is because we want more interaction between the people and the band.
People want to do concerts everywhere but we are picky. We’re trying to focus on the lesser number but good ones.
Also, regarding the promotion, the channels have been airing our promos, interviews etc, or people can even log on to Cybernepal.com.np for the videos, e-promos… stuffs like that !

How are you feeling at the moment? How is it to be a hit?

It’s very very fortunate, lucky, like a dream come true… I think that hard work paid off. We worked really hard like dogs and if you create something and get appreciated for what you’ve done, it’s really a pleasure. Everyone is not always so lucky.
I would say that this is a reward for all the sacrifices we’ve made regarding the time and our patience. I’m happy. (he smiles)

Had you expected this much?

Actually no! We just wanted to try out our music and show our creativity… but it worked well.

The video for ‘Audai Jadai’ looks interesting .Tell us about it.

(He smiles) The fun part was the shooting and the auditions. We had to go through 2 auditions. We were new and didn't want any models for the video so if we didn't perform well, it could also ruin the image of the song. At first I didn't even know what to do in front of the camera so our director Emina Pradhan gave me a flower vase and told me .."imagine that it’s your girlfriend and then act"..(he laughs). We practised for a week and then the final shooting was done.

Your look in the video has been appreciated. Do you have to say anything regarding that?

Well! It was just… normal… how I look.. I was not given to shave! But after people saw me in the video, it’s become like an image. People want me to look same as in the video …..

Let’s steal a look into Sarun’s personal life….

Tell us about your childhood.
Well.. I was born on 10th Nov, 1981. It was normal Kathmandu based childhood. I did my schooling from LA. After SLC, I went to Sydney for further studies in Business Computing. So.. it was like that……..

So what are you doing these days?
I’m busy with interviews…(he smiles)… organizing concerts… stuffs like that…

What do you prefer doing other than music?
Other than music…..I surf the net, do designing stuffs…etc,etc…

What about your love life? Are you seeing anyone presently?
(He smiles) I just want to say that I am single and I am not seeing anyone. Just want to focus on my career right now.

How serious are you in music? Do you want to take it as a profession?
Well… I just think that if you know something, you should bring it out. I’ve not taken music as a hobby or as a profession. I’m just bringing out my creativity in front of others. Maybe I’ll go professionally in the future …. If it pays me well!...(he smiles)

What’s the important thing inside you (other than music) that you think people should appreciate?
Well!... The most important…hmm.. is that… I’m creative… Well! Am I creative?!.( he smiles).. ok! I’ve lots of respect towards Nepali music and I want to contribute something to my country.

Any crazy thing your fan has done for you?
I met one of my fans last time and she’s got her room full of our posters and pics that she shot from the tv interviews.. and she’s made a small music video out of our song… Just playing the music and shooting our pics… that’s crazy I guess!

At last any message to your fans?

Well I just want to say that… listen to Nepali music, it’s getting better. Give honor and respect to Nepali artists. Stop piracy. And yes! Keep listening to our songs.

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