Punjabi singer and politician Hans Raj Hans has returned to music with a new single, ‘Ohdiyan Khedaan’, marking his comeback after a gap of more than a decade. The Padma Shri recipient said he stepped away from the music industry to focus on politics and had considered retiring from singing altogether.
Speaking to IANS about his return, Hans said he had drifted from show business towards politics and that the gap had stretched to 12 to 13 years. He said he had thought it best to retire from all his work but was persuaded to return by his friend, Sanjeev Anand, who told him that people still wanted to hear his songs.
The new track is written by Sanjeev Anand and composed by Amdad Ali. It has been produced by Harshit Anand and released under the Anand Records label. Hans said the song is centred on human connection rather than religious themes and described it as a wonderful opportunity to express his emotions, feelings and thoughts. He added that although the song is not directly spiritual, listeners may still sense a spiritual touch in it.
Hans Raj Hans is widely known for songs including ‘Dil Tote Tote Ho Gaya’, ‘Dil Chori Sada Ho Gaya’, ‘Nit Khair Manga’ and ‘Sili Sili Hawa’. He has also sung for films, including alongside Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in ‘Kachche Dhaage’.
The singer later moved into electoral politics, joining the Shiromani Akali Dal in 2009 and unsuccessfully contesting the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat that year. He resigned from the party in 2014, joined the Indian National Congress in 2016 and moved to the Bharatiya Janata Party later that year. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from the North West Delhi constituency in 2019 and unsuccessfully contested the Faridkot seat in 2024.
