Singer Aishwarya Bhandari whose cover songs has become a big hit on YouTube is elated at the response that she is getting for her debut Bollywood track from the Manoj Bajpayee starrer Suraj Pe Mangal Bhaari. The mellifluous singer talks about her Bollywood debut and shares her desire of working with singers Sonu Nigam and Arijit Singh. Excerpts:
Tell us something about your musical journey?
My father has been into music for the past 47 and is more into live music space and orchestras. So music was in my genes and when he saw my inclination towards music he wanted me to take formal training in music. In 2011 I shifted to Mumbai to pursue music seriously and I feel very lucky that I have got the opportunity to learn singing from my guru Suresh Wadkar ji at Ajivasan.
Ladki Dramebaaz Hai is sung by multiple singers including you. How has the whole experience been?
It’s always a pleasure to see your name on the silver screen and while we record a song we actually don’t know how the song is going to turn out. It’s nice that so many talented people are a part of it.
You have been doing a lot of covers on your YouTube channel, especially the mash-up of English and Bollywood tracks. Tell us something about that.
It’s very important to keep my audience and fans constantly engaged with music. YouTube is a great space to portray talent and also experiment with what we want to showcase with our music. We don’t need to be judgemental about our choice of songs on YouTube and simply illustrate our talent through covers and more.
How did Ladki Dramebaaz Hai come your way?
One night during the lockdown I was working on some project at my home studio when I got a call from music composer Mohsin. He asked me to record my part and I was totally surprised to see that it’s locked.
How was the experience of working with Javed-Mohsin?
I have been listening to songs composed by Javed Mohsin and the song Pal from Jalebi is my favourite. They have been doing some great music whether it’s romantic or a party number. I am proud that my first song is with them.
Your recent single 'Befikre' with Adhyayan Suman did very well, how was it working with Adhyayan Suman? And how did the song come through?
The composer of the song Harshit asked me to come and dub the song at 2 in the night. I was called again to sing with Adhyayan which was amazing as he is a very popular singer amongst the youth. It was a great opportunity for me and I could showcase my versatility in the song and Harshit is a great composer.
What’s next?
I am really looking forward to working with new composers and collaborate with other artistes too. My favourite composers are AR Rahman and Shankar Ehsaan Loy. Also, I would love to sing a duet with Arijit Singh and Sonu Nigam.