For any rising musician, collaborating with legendary musicians like Salim-Sulaiman, Vishal Mishra, Sachin-Jigar, and Javed Ali serves as an invaluable masterclass in the art of sound. Armed with those profound industry lessons, musician Prateeksha Srivastava shares the creative journey behind her newest drop, Sajna Ve.
Sajna Ve captures the sweet chaos and cinematic daydreams of having a crush. What personal experiences or cinematic influences inspired the playful, romantic narrative of this track?
I love how Bollywood used to portray carefree, strong-headed women falling in love and taking the lead sometimes. I miss that now in Hindi music, and wanted to capture the nostalgia along with a contemporary approach. Personally, I am an out-loud woman; if I like someone, I will make efforts for sure, so writing this song came easily to me.
The song creates a balance of contemporary pop sensibilities with deep storytelling. When writing Sajna Ve, did the lyrics come first or the melody?
Melody came first; in fact, the entire first half came to me in one go. So I knew that the concept of the song lyrically needed to be a female point of view, where the girl is chasing the guy innocently, and the guy is being wooed.
Having worked with industry giants like Salim-Sulaiman, Vishal Mishra, Sachin-Jigar, and Javed Ali, what is the most valuable lesson that you’ve learnt?
I have seen these legends work for weeks on a piece of music. But if it doesn’t work out in the end, they don’t sulk; they trash it within seconds and are ready to work on the same brief from scratch. They fully attach to the piece they are making, but once it’s done, they detach too, and they don’t break their mindset or flow state. It’s commendable.
The Indian independent music scene is evolving rapidly. As an artiste who is deeply involved in songwriting, composition, and performance, what changes in the current music landscape excite you the most?
Artistes are building audiences before labels, and this shift in power dynamics is really exciting to me. Also, the Bollywood gatekeeping is over, and people no longer just want a song. They want to hold on to that feeling, and they want to know the artiste.
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