The Score Magazine - Archive April 2015 issue! | Page 13

Where did it all begin? Tell us a little bit
about your musical journey.
I was born in Rishikesh. Rishikesh was a very small
town. It's a Dharmic place, no? So you get to see people
singing bhajans and all. I started with singing in
competitions at the age of four. I had been interested
in singing since childhood. So, I used to sing jagrans.
Gradually, it became my profession and I used to go to
all kinds of singing shows. Then, I started to travel out
of Rishikesh also for my jagrans, chaukis and shows.
When you wer e four, you were travelling?
No, I was in Rishekesh but gradually as I grew older,
people came to know that there is a little child who
sings Mata ke Bhajans. These days, it’s not surprising
but then, it was a big deal. People were astounded at
the fact that such a little kid was actually singing. I
used to sing in my childish accent, and people used to
call me Baby Sonu. Gradually, I became so famous
that people started calling me everywhere - Punjab,
Haryana, U.P, as far as that. They'd say, "Baby Sonu's
coming to us!” In effect, quite a lot of people had
already begun to turn me into a star at that age, which
was great.
So, you were initially discovered by
Sandeep Chowta, right? Could you tell
us that story?
Yes, as I mentioned before, I was in Rishikesh,
and it’s a terribly small town. If you want to
advance yourself in any field, it’s extremely
difficult to do so there. You definitely have
to leave the town on account of the fact that
there's very little in the way of exposure there.
So, I used to get a lot of offers from Delhi to do
jagrans and what not. I figured that since I had
to keep travelling so frequently to Delhi, why
not just shift there? I even managed to convince
my parents to shift there permanently. I
finished schooling in Rishikesh and then
moved to Delhi when Sandeep Chowtaji
noticed my vocals in a competition. Viva
Band ki Talash Mein was the contest.
I participated in the contest where he
heard me and said, "You have such a
unique voice. I would love to use
it in my films." At the time, I
thought everyone made
promises
just for the sake of it without following through.
He, however called me within two to three months,
and that's how 'Babuji' happened. That was my first
Bollywood song.
Oh, and it was a big hit also. I don't think
anyone has forgotten that song till date.
Yea, I'm glad to be a part of the song.
Was it only you who sang that song?
Yea, actually it was a female-oriented song but
Sukhwinderji was also there for the male vocals.
What has been your most memorable
project till today? And why?
I obviously have a special attachment towards
'Babuji' because it was my first playback song, and
it symbolized me getting what I wanted. I sang in a
film. That will always be close to my heart. There's
also "Heer - The Sufi Soul" which is my solo album.
The music is by my brother Tony Kakkar. We have
got four videos out of this album. For one of the songs,
I have an MTV Video Music Award for Best New
Female Artist. The song is called Mahi Bin. This
project has always been very close to my heart because
the songs I had sung were so like me. This was me, you
know? This is the music that I love the most. This kind
of music is my soul. It’s the Sufi kind of genre, which
I love the most. This was written and composed by
brother too.
Is there anything new that we can look
forward to?
Yes, there are a couple of new singles to be released.
But before that, there is a film called "Margarita With
A Straw" It’s a beautiful film directed by Shonali
Bose who has done a fantastic job. And I've done a
song in this film, the music for which is by Mikey
McCleary who is amazing. The song is called "Foreign
Balamwa". It is yet to be released. This will be the first
of all my future projects to be released.
You also sang London Thumukda, right?
Yes, from Queen. Labh Janjua and my sister Neha
are also in the song.
This song is very popular down South.
You know, for all these sangeet parties for
weddings...this song has to be there.
Absolutely. I'm really glad that people love this song
so much. Even in the North, in Punjab. It’s Punjabi,
so obviously people there will love it. It’s become like
a wedding anthem. I'm glad that Amit Trivedi gave
me this song. Infact, we got so many nominations for
London Thumukda and won a GIMA award for
Best Song.
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