Singer Shilpa Rao has our ear, literally. Actors Ahan Shetty and Tara Sutaria’s latest film Tadap’s new song Tere Siva Jag Mein dropped a few days ago. A party number with groovy beats, the song marks the return of the hit pair of singer-composer Shilpa and Pritam Chakraborty (known by the mononym Pritam), who have many chartbusters to their credit like Bulleya, Subhanallah, Malang and Kalank amongst others. Hailing from a family of musicians, Grammy nominated singer Shilpa embarked on her musical journey through Bollywood and Hindustani classical music. Shilpa, has come a long way in her career with her soulful voice that made a huge impact on music lovers across the globe for her effortless craft. Offering something new to her audience each time, Shilpa’s work as a playback singer is not limited to film soundtracks. She has collaborated with talented musicians across genres from Karsh Kale, Agni, Noori and Anoushka Shankar, the Yellow Diaries, Amit Trivedi, etc. along with being the only Indian to perform at Pakistan Coke Studio and at Glastonbury Festival in 2015. In a telephonic conversation with Indulge, the ace singer spoke about reuniting with Pritam, why the Grammy nomination does not change anything and the importance of working hard. Excerpts:
Your audience is loving Tere Siva Jag Mein a lot. Tell us more about the song.
We started working on this song three years ago and Pritam had this wonderful idea to do a modern format celebratory track with an Indian classical touch. The song is composed of a well-known Hindustani Raga Yaman but the whole treatment is very modern and relatable. The lyrics are written in a way, such that everyone can relate to them. Everyone has that one person in their life without whom they don’t feel alive in the world.
How has collaborating with Pritam been on this song?
Working with Pritam has always been very special to me and ever evolving. Over the years I have learned so much from him. He is always so warm and brings up new challenges every time. As a composer also, he has grown so much with every song, more in depth. Even with Tere Siva Jag Mein, he brought me a different challenge of a peppy number with an Indian classical touch.
You have sung melodious and dance numbers with equal excellence. Is there any genre of music which is closer to your heart?
I love all the tracks I have sung. I love to try new things and working in different music genres helps me break the monotony. For me, it is important to break the autopilot mode and dig deep and do different things.
You made your debut as a playback singer in 2007 with Javeda Zindagi from the movie Anwar. How has your journey been till now?
The journey has been awesome. I have been very fortunate to work with so many talented people and to learn from them. It is very important to have great people around oneself to learn and evolve as a human being too.
Do you have any favourite singer or composer?
It is difficult for me to choose anyone. In fact, I am grateful that they have chosen to work with me.
You are now a Grammy nominated artist, how has life changed since then?
In 2019, I collaborated with renowned sitar player Anoushka Shankar for a song Those Words from the album Love Letter, the album was also nominated for prestigious 63rd Grammy Awards 2021. The nomination didn’t change anything for me. I believe life must go on whether we get anything or not. Moreover, it is important for me to work harder and create good music.
What’s coming up next?
I have a couple of independent and film songs coming out next year. I hope people will shower their love on them as they have done in the past.
— reshmichakravorthy@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @reshmi190488