R&B singer Raghav now wants to compose for Hindi films

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) He has got several singing offers in Bollywood, but Britain-based Indian singer Raghav, who made people groove to his songs 'Angel eyes' and 'Let's work it out', says he is more interested in writing and composing songs.

'I would like to sing in Bollywood films but on a condition - I will sing only if I get a chance to write and compose those songs. If they (filmmakers) will allow me to do that, I'm more than happy to accept the offers,' Raghav told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

The 27-year-old crossover arist was in India on a four day music tour organised by entertainment channel VH1.

Raghav, who has returned with his second album 'Identity' after four years, had created a buzz with his debut album 'Storyteller' that sold more than 1.3 million copies globally.

Asked what took him so long to release the second album, the singer said: 'There wasn't a gap from my side because I have been busy touring like crazy and performing in different parts of the world. Simultaneously, I was working on my album, so I was never on a break,' he said.

In the new 10-song album, Raghav has incorporated three Hindi songs, 'My Kinda Girl', which has a few English lyrics, 'Humrahee' and 'Jadugar'. The album also has a lot more acoustic this time around.

Has he used Hindi lyrics to reach a wider audience in India?

'It's not that I added few Hindi numbers to my album to increase my reach in India. No honest musician can first think about the market and then compose. It's just that I felt like making Hindi songs, there was no other reason,' said Raghav whose trademark style includes hip-hop, R&B, Hindi popular music, reggae, Indian classic music and soul - all in one.

'Music chose me, I've been into music since the age of five. Also, I love to entertain so I decided to entertain the world with the gift of music,' he added.

Winner of the the Best Single and Best Newcomer awards at the 2005 UK Asian Music Awards, Best Chart Act at the 2005 Urban Music Awards and Best Artist at the 2005 Southern Asian Music Awards, Raghav is a great fan of Indian music maestro and double academy award winner A.R. Rahman.

'Rahman is someone I really look up to. He is too good. Even though he has received global appreciation, I feel that he is still under appreciated. He is very talented,' he said.