Anurag Kashyap reveals the ‘sad reality’ behind Arijit Singh’s retirement
3 min readNew DelhiFeb 17, 2026 06:27 PM IST
Arijit Singh’s recent retirement announcement from playback singing left the entire nation in shock. It also stirred a controversy about creative exhaustion and the future of musicians in the Bollywood industry. While some peers supported his decision, calling it a new phase, the singer’s fans were disappointed with the move. Now, in a recent interview, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap reacted to Arijit’s retirement announcement, reasoning less ‘freedom’ for musicians within the industry.
During a conversation with Tried Refused Productions, he said, “When you give freedom and time to any musician, they will come out with something else. But, if you restrict them about the songs, or that it should be a hit, all the musicians feel bound. The fact that Arijit Singh announced his retirement, it’s because he was tired of singing the same thing again and again.”
The filmmaker praised Arijit Singh, expressing that there’s much more to him than just heartbreak tracks. “It’s a heartbreak. The man is so talented. He has done music for the Sanya Malhotra film, Pagglait. He is also a filmmaker, and takes care of his entire town. He is a very private person. He doesn’t want to keep singing the same kind of songs. There is more to Arijit Singh than just heartbreak songs. He wants to do a lot more,” he added.
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In fact, the singer-music producer had worked with Kashyap on a song of his film Nishaanchi. “He was so happy. When we did Nishaanchi, he did 100 take of that one song. Nobody had offered him a song like that before. He does things on his own terms. Music comes from the soul. Pure singers and musicians work from the soul, and if we give them that space, they come out with something else,” he shared.
Anurag continued, “If you tell them exactly what you want, they feel restricted. They feel like they are not exploring themselves. Amit Trivedi started his independent label, Vishal Dadlani is restarting his band. People want to reinvent themselves now.”
Arijit Singh’s retirement announcement
Around a month ago, Arijit Singh had announced his retirement from playback singing on Instagram. He wrote in a post, “I want to thank you all for giving me so much love all these years as listeners. I am happy to announce that I am not gonna be taking any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey.”
