Musician Ayaan Agnihotri aka Agni, nephew of actor Salman Khan, made his Bollywood singing debut this year with the track C’mon Baby for actor Bobby Deol’s film Bandar. This marked his first-ever playback track, following three independent singles that he released in the past. But as he prepared for the song, Agni kept it a secret from his Salman Mamu.
“I was actually not allowed to tell Salman Mamu that I was doing this song for Bobby uncle’s film Bandar. Nikhil (Dwivedi, co-producer) swore me to secrecy and he said, ‘When this song goes through, then I will play it to your Mamu and tell him I’ve discovered a new voice, what do you think of this guy?’,” reveals Agni. Asked what Salman’s reaction was on learning that his nephew was the “new voice”, the young musician shares, “He liked it and when he met me after that he told me I did a good job and should stay at it.”
Son of Salman’s sister Alvira Khan Agnihotri and filmmaker Atul Agnihotri, Agni is making his career in music. But growing up, he wanted to walk into the footsteps of his uncles and become an actor. “Originally as a child I grew up with this idea that I wanted to become an actor. I went to university to do acting and world theater. As I went on, I realised that it’s just performing in general that I really enjoy. Around the same time I started writing. Poems turned into spoken words, which turned into music, and I found a very special connection to music. I felt I could express things that I wanted to through my writing, and was inspired by music because it helped me relate to things I was going through and get through them. That really made an impact on me,” says Agni, adding, “Maybe Bollywood some time in the future, it’s definitely not off the agenda because I do love acting. But right now the focus is on the music.”
On the personal front, Agni is currently busy with wedding prep. He got engaged to Tina Rijhwani, a corporate communications professional, earlier this year.