Being on the chubbier side as a kid, singer Nikhita Gandhi mostly hid behind the colour black. But as she grew up she realized she had been too hard on her teenage self than she deserved.
Now that she owns a voice that reaches a wide audience who adores her, she wants to use it to make sure the next 16-year-old girl doesn’t feel the way she did. That train of thought was also partially behind her single Maharani’s lyrics. The song’s been trending on the charts and Instagram reels alike since its release in October and is all about self-love and embracing oneself completely. “There are so many kinds of beautiful and every girl is a queen in her own eyes. The song Maharani says that without being preachy. It’s very liberating as an artiste to turn insecurities into something beautiful and constructive. Every artist has a style language and story of her own. Look at how Western singers like Adele carry themselves. I would definitely want to be a part of that culture since I have a lot to say,” says the spunky Nikhita.
And that’s precisely why even after being hugely successful in Bollywood since her debut with the song Raabta (2017), Nikhita is parallelly working towards establishing herself as an indie artist too. And to that end, this dentist-turned-musician -- whose oeuvre comprises a range of filmi hit numbers including the recently released Kyaa Baat Haii 2.0 (Govinda Naam Mera), and Kaala Jaadu (Freddy) -- is all set to come up with her first solo album in the middle of 2023.
For our anniversary special issue, who could be a better cover than the very confident Nikhita, all set to conquer the world with music as her weapon. The husky crooner flew down to her city of birth for a very funky fashion shoot curated by stylist Tanvi Shah that perfectly channels the artiste’s stylish yet fun-loving and free spirit.
Here are excerpts from a heart-to-heart chat with the Maharani.
Though you started out singing professionally in 2013, you moved to Mumbai post your playback debut with the film Raabta in 2017. How has the journey been so far?
As a person, I am very embracing and love trying out new things. I keep an open mind which has helped make a lot happen within a very short span of time. After the song Raabta, things started happening so fast that I decided to stay back in Mumbai and I have been blessed to have worked with some of the best composers and singers including, AR Rehman, Pritam, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, and Tanishk Bagchi among others. Initially, I thought it was plain luck but with each release, it became more real. The music industry is very haphazard and it’s not a 9 to 5 job -- it may seem bizarre that you may be entering a movie hall or having dinner somewhere and you have to drop your plans and go for recording. Flexibility is something that was very new to me and it took me some time to get used to it, but I find it exciting.
You also compose music…
I like composing and producing indie all by myself and learning all the work involved to produce a song. That gives an insight into the other professions attached to music and you start respecting people around you and making you a humbler artist. I recently composed a song for the web series Mismatched and edited a lot of videos too.
How do you feel the music industry is shaping up?
I think there’s some beautiful music out there with more people than before. But now, a lot of people can just sit in their houses and create music and promote the same across several platforms. Even 10 years ago you couldn’t have bloomed without knowing someone on the top of a music label. The flip side is that the sheer quantity of music is perhaps diluting what we are ending up listening to, making it hard to find what we really want. Also, there’s no science behind what works, making it scarier for the labels as well to survive now.
The way of promoting songs too has changed…
I think the cassettes, CDs and merchandise have been replaced by different sets of tools led by social media. But there too it’s algorithm-based which doesn’t favour variety -- we get bombarded with similar kinds of content, narrowing down audience experience, and making it tougher for someone to cut through their eco-system.
What do you think is the way out for an emerging artiste?
I think apart from a bit of luck, timing plays a vital part. Also, the best way to crack things is by simply not trying too hard. When you try to work a system, the focus gets shifted.
Tell us about your new projects?
I’ve been working on an album and planning to release it sometime in the middle of next year. It’s a work in progress and will have 5-10 songs. I released an EP in September as a prelude to it. Besides that, I am doing a lot of singles. The track Bura Na Mano was played at Times Square New York and Maharani released this October did exceedingly well too. My latest party banger P Paa K with Denny released this December and is also clicking well.
Honestly speaking, my goal this year onwards is to level the plane between being a playback singer and an independent artiste. Playback singing is just a part of me. I want the audience to experience the singer in me in its entirety, which doesn’t happen in playback singing, where you are just the voice behind a heroine’s face. That’s slowly happening here which is what makes it interesting times for indie artistes like Prateek Kuhad and others.
What tunes draw you as a composer?
I have a varied taste in music. As a child, I had been exposed to a lot of RnB, jazz, classics like Frank Sinatra, Boney M, Hindusthani music and even Nazrul Geeti. Then my personal playlist went on to include Alicia Keys Norah Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and others.
How music has evolved over the years?
The music scene is evolving into a less co-dependent space with dependency on Bollywood thinning increasingly. It used to be a Bollywood-dominated industry, but now with OTT platforms there’s so much content with the music slowly coming out of filmi mode. The whole vibe has changed. With content getting more realistic, there’s no song every 5 minutes of the film, and the music industry too is on its way to finding its independent identity outside of Bollywood.
Your fashion choices?
I love to wear cool and comfortable clothes that are sporty too since I have always been into sports during school days. All my dressing up centres around oversized tees and shorts. I also just love wearing saris and I can drape them in trwo minutes flat.
CREDITS
Pictures: Upahar Biswas / Styling Tanvi Shah / Hair and Makeup: Karim / Outfits: Re Nao and Miakee / Hair extensions by PSY Hair Story / Location courtesy: ITC Royal Bengal