ARPITA CHAKRABORTY, the probashi Bengali, is ecstatic about her new song Paisa Ye Paisa, lip-synced by none other than Madhuri Dixit in the film Total Dhamaal, which releases today. The Odisha-born playback singer, who made her Bollywood debut with Raske Bhare Tore Naina in the film Satyagraha, has also delivered hits in films such as Raghini MMS 2 and Hero. The singer, now in her late-20s, is looking for more opportunities to pay tribute to great artistes.
Did you know that Madhuri Dixit would be lip-syncing your song?
I had no idea of the star cast, or that the song will be sung by Madhuri Dixit! The dhak dhak queen did make my heart skip a beat. Not knowing anything, I gave my best and concentrated on the song.
It’s an iconic song by Kishore Kumar, did that make you nervous?
Frankly speaking, I was initially intimidated, because it was sung by Kishore Kumar, who is a legend in Bollywood. Also, it’s from the iconic film, Karz. But we had lots of fun while recording the song. Gourov-Roshin did a very good job with the composition.
Remixed versions of old songs are getting their fare share of criticism. What do you have to say about that?
I feel honoured to be able to sing songs that were a big hit while we were growing up. I’m happy to be recreating songs that youngsters are humming to, the way we did. It connects them more to their elders, as they now know what kind of songs their parents grew up listening to. And the only way it can happen is through remakes. It revives old memories.
Do you have other songs in mind which you would like to recreate?
There are so many songs that I wish I could sing from the 1990s. I would love to sing songs from Baazigar. Tip Tip Barsa Pani is one of my alltime favourites. Also, I would love to sing songs from films of Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.
What are your upcoming projects?
I am singing in Ti and Ti, a Marathi film, directed by Mrinal Kulkarni. I am working on more singles, and I am looking forward to being a complete artiste, and not just a playback singer. I would love to sing something in Bengali as well.