Meet Justh, the ex-CA behind viral hit ‘Chor’

A former chartered accountant-turned-artist, Justh, wrote and performed Chor that became the Global Number 1 Viral Song on Spotify in February. The Noida-based singer now has over 101k followers on Instagram and over 1 million reels created on his song Chor. Bizz Buzz sat down with him and three words surfaced as this individual's lens on the world: abstract, magic, and purity—primemost to his expression and everything that goes behind it. Nature is his teacher, truth is his yardstick, and timelessness is his art's characteristic core, but his raw desire, his true aim is only honest expression and that unto itself is the means, is the goal

There has been a long struggle period behind this sensational success. Who believed in you and helped you affirm that you were on the right path when you first started out on your own?

Bhai, sawaari saaman ki khud zimmedar hai! Toh, mere liye mai he hun. Pursuing music made no logical sense because I had no experience with music. For four-five years, you are not making any money. You are just running on this abstract idea that this is your vision and this is the thing you want to do. You do not have any results to silence the world. So, it was purely my internal conviction that kept me going. Of course, whenever I performed, I received appreciation, and I am deeply grateful to my family for being incredibly supportive. But there were many contradictory voices saying, ''Bhai kya kar raha hai!' I would feel bad momentarily, but then only I have the power to shake my conviction.

Were there mentors you followed? Artists you aspired to emulate?

I want to make the listener feel certain things through music. No particular artist has inspired me to become "like them". But there have been artists in whose work I have seen a transcendental nature, and I aspire to attain that truthfulness in my work. I get inspired by the capability to go deeper and touch something beyond the conscious mind. I have seen it in Rabindranath Tagore's work, Bob Dylan's songs, A.R. Rahman's music, some of Arijit Singh's songs, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's qawwalis, Leonard Cohen's poetry, Raja Ravi Verma's paintings. It is this feeling of complete presence, of operating in the truth of the moment. There's such honesty, no fakeness! It is what makes their art timeless and inspires me far more than the style of working which is secondary.

So, for these artists who dive within and confront their truth, it must be a difficult journey to make?

It is difficult, and also not difficult. See, the journey of self-discovery is challenging. That's why there are very few true artists. It's about being completely naked with your inner self, and creating for the sake of creation, not fame or fortune.

Because fame and fortune aren't worth it?

They can be the byproducts of expression, but the act itself is the purpose. Expressing for the sake of expressing requires a purity within.

What does 'purity' mean?

An individual knows it when they see it. It is easy to know when you are not being pure. So you can reverse engineer it. When you are taking a decision and your mind steps in to justify the decision, it is a red flag.

Do artists experience the world differently?

There is no stereotypical artist's life. A cook can be an artist, a hairdresser too. It is upto each individual how they want to experience life and express themselves.

Is there a specific thing you want to achieve through your music?

Music has immense power. I want to access that power as a creator and make it accessible for the listener. Also, I want to create something timeless. Timelessness is about capturing the truth of a moment in time. Any art becomes timeless when it is created by being fully present in the moment.

You tend to get obsessed with every little aspect of your work.

(chuckles) I am the same person whether I am writing songs or eating a dosa. Music is my instrument for expression. It is me. With all due respect, I am not making music for the sake of finishing an album or churning out ten songs for a film. My songs mirror how my inner self experiences this external world and I get very particular about keeping them as true as possible to my perception.

Earlier you mentioned a duality, that your music is separate from you.

No, my music is me, but I am not just my music. Imagine the river Ganga flowing, originating from Gangotri, then branching into three distinct paths. The source remains the same.

How do you navigate creative roadblocks?

You figure it out on the way. There are no set rules.

What is your creative process like?

The creative process is a mystical process especially when you are building something with magic and purity. It is not like you do 'riyaas' for 5 hours and sit down with a piano. Life in a song cannot be engineered or doctored. I cannot make songs on cues. It is something like that meme: a kid says my dream is to make India number 2 country in the world. Someone asks him, why number 2, why not number 1? He says, because it is not my dream.

How do you approach a song?

Every song directs its own process. Sometimes a song comes together in two hours, and sometimes, it takes years, not that you are doing just that for two years, but you let the song simmer on the backburner. When I am making a song, my yardstick is whether the song has life in it, whether I can feel something in the song. The audience comes much later. 'Chor' follows no structure as predefined by the trends in the market. Sometimes a song comes alive from a memory. Songmaking is a fluid process with subtlety and nuance. I don't know how I am going to write my next song.

What comes first: melody or lyrics?

They can even come together. They flow out like a rainbow, like any element of nature. The song itself tells you what world it has chosen to bring alive. Once the concept becomes clear, it's a magical moment.

Which part of the process do you enjoy the most? Is it writing, composing, singing, or producing the final track?

The most joyous part is sitting down with the guitar and letting the raw seed of pure creation flow through. Production, on the other hand, is a meticulous effort and you "aim to achieve" flow through it. Mixing requires a great deal of precision and attention to detail. It can be a painful process and it tests you, especially when you are trying to capture an abstract feeling in your art. However, when you finally "crack the code" and get everything sounding just right, you feel amazing.

In 'Chor' you sing, ''kar de mujhe azad…'' What does azadi mean to you?

I don't want to comment because the song has been interpreted by millions of people and recreated as their own. Several hundred versions have been put out already. This is exactly the kind of art I like. I do not want to influence what my art means to a receiver. When I wrote the song, it meant a certain thing for me, and when I recorded it, the meaning had changed. The song is a part of nature and it can evoke in you who you are at the moment.

Is there a definition of a "hit" for you?

I did want 'Chor' to reach as many people as possible, but I kept no expectations. I was disappointed when the song wasn't picking up in the first month, because I had invested every atom of my being in it and I wanted people to listen to it at least, but I had made it for the sake of making it and metrics were not the goal. I wanted to make the purest thing that I could possibly make. There was a detachment from the numbers, that's why I didn't spend a single penny on marketing. I didn't sell the song. My intention was to let the song choose its destiny. If the song resonates with a thousand people or ten crore people, that is the song's destiny.

You went to Pushkar and sang on the streets in the process?

Not in the process of creating any song, but yes, in the process of understanding life.

So, does your spiritual bent power your creative process?

''Spiritual'' is a simplistic term. Spirituality, or whatsoever you may call it, is something deeper within, and when you connect with it, it is a journey of self-discovery. It comprises reflections, realizations, recognizing the very primal need for expression and figuring out the right channel for it. This whole process leads you to the source of all power. It gives you the courage to make tough choices.

For the 'Chor' video, you first went to shoot in the mountains. What had happened?

The road broke down when we were going to Manali. Interestingly, in 2017, I was in Banaras and I was in a boat. It was 5: 30 in the evening. By then, I had already written Chor. And I had this feeling that Chor must be shot right here in this boat in Banaras. Thereafter, I totally forgot about that hunch. I believe the video wanted to get shot there. And so the whole Manali shoot didn't go through. These songs are living things for me. Music is a living entity. There are living energies in art. To be able to touch them through creation is the journey I am on.

And why have you chosen to undertake this journey?

Because I came for that. I can only play by truth. An apple tree will give apples only. It is its nature.

Where did this need to express arise?

I had this realization at 2 am one night thatI am here to make songs about life and express myself through music. Clarity came then, but since childhood, a very instinctive need for expression has been there. I have always known I wanted to change the world. With time I realized that the more you go deeper within yourself and operate from a place of purity, the world starts changing automatically. If you solely go about changing the world, it is a lost battle.

Is there any Bollywood actor you would like to lend your voice to?

I analyze the sun a lot. I regularly study nature, especially the sun, and not from any book but through the lens of my own intellect and understanding. In my perception, the sun does not shine with a purpose of illuminating the world, its light is just a byproduct of all that goes within it. Similarly, my music comes from a deep desire to express my inner world. Whether it resonates with others or not isn't the initial driving force. I am not here to lend my voice to someone.

Your music is full of evocative imagery, which makes me think of legendary lyricists like Javed Akhtar and Gulzar Sahab. Do you have a preference for one of their styles?

I admire them both. Gulzar Sahab does visual poetry. He paints surreal pictures in your mind. And Javed Sahab is straightforward. He says the most complex things with the simplest words.

Do you want to dedicate a song to that moment when you had the 2 am epiphany?

Every song is a distributary of that moment.

People choose a name for its meaning, you gave meaning to a name you created. You named yourself Justh and called it a state of love and energy. How?

I got to know it like lightning arrives. It was a moment of spark. The name came first, and the meaning came two years later. You can do anything in this world. The meaning of Justh also is open to interpretation like any of my songs.

You are in an interesting stage of your life. It is a long way from your struggle period. Are you enjoying it?

Absolutely, and I was enjoying life back then too but now because my songs are doing well, I am getting braver with the choices I want to make. The success has given me confidence to keep working in the manner I want to work. I can also leverage it for money and fame. I have tons of opportunities in front of me. But I can also see it as a validation of my process and continue doing things my way with greater conviction. Whatever the future brings, I shall welcome it if I like it or leave it if I don't. Sab sahi hai!