Pankaj Tripathi Backs Arjit Singh's Retirement Decision: 'We Are Artists, Not Factory Products'

Arijit Singh’s sudden decision to step away from playback singing has shocked fans and set the music industry abuzz. As reactions continue to pour in, actor Pankaj Tripathi has also weighed in on the matter, backing the singer’s decision. He said that artists are not like products, and that it is important to take breaks.

“You need a break to reinvent yourself. It’s important to take frequent breaks or slow down, as being an artist is a demanding job. Only then will an artist be able to do something new. We are not factory products,” the actor said, in a chat with NDTV.

“We aren’t like those 1,000 copies of matchboxes that a factory produces every day. We are artists, not products… Bahut bhaag-daud hai (There’s a lot of running around). Every

actor has to struggle and sacrifice a lot to reach where they are today. You should be excited to go on set. And the motivation for that excitement keeps changing again and again,” added Pankaj.

Recently, Lucky Ali also backed Arijit. Speaking to news agency PTI, Lucky Ali said Arijit’s move likely came from a deeply personal place and deserved respect rather than judgment. Drawing from his own journey of carving an independent musical path, Lucky said he fully supports Arijit’s choice.

“You’ve got to go stand in the musician’s shoes to understand what he’s really feeling. And if he’s taken a step to that effect, something must have snapped within him. I totally agree with Arijit when he made the stand. And it’s not a loss. He’s definitely going to sing, and he’s going to express himself, but he’s not going to do it with the circumstances that were there before. You’ve got to make your own road like how we’ve done; we made our own road,” he said.

Arijit Singh announced his retirement from playback singing last month in a note shared on Instagram, catching fans and the industry by surprise. “Hello. Happy New Year to all. I want to thank you all for giving me so much love all these years as listeners. I’m happy to announce that I am not going to take any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it quits. It was a wonderful journey,” he wrote on January 27.

Over the years, Arijit has delivered some of Hindi cinema’s most memorable songs, including Tum Hi Ho, Channa Mereya, Agar Tum Saath Ho, Raabta, Kesariya, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Tera Yaar Hoon Main, Tujhe Kitna Chahne Lage and Hum To Tere Hi Liye The from Vishal Bhardwaj’s upcoming O Romeo. His most recent release is Ghar Kab Aaoge from Border 2.