From her days of singing for remix albums to getting Bollywood playback projects, Shruti Pathak has come a long way. After being noticed for her rendition of an old Bollywood classic ‘Leke Pehla Pehla Pyaar’(Baby Doll series) in 2004, she has gone ahead and toured with the likes of Shaan, Sonu Nigam and Vishal-Shekhar.
She ‘arrived’ in the industry with 2008’s ‘Mar Jawa’ from the movie ‘Fashion’ for which she was also nominated for Filmfare and Screen Awards. In addition to playback singing and touring, Pathak also writes lyrics for her songs (‘Payaliya’ from Dev.D 2009) and ‘Shubhaaramabh’ (Kai Po Chi)
Radioandmusic.com caught up with her for a quick tete-a-tete on the music industry and her projects.
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Excerpts:
How do you keep your creativity alive as a singer and writer?
I think music industry has definitely grown. Music composers nowadays are very open minded: open to suggestions from the singers. They let the singer do his/ her job. So, singers do have the liberty to try out new things in a song. But to let the creativity alive and flourish more, I think every musician tries to work on their own music, their inner calling, which is very, very important as a musician.
How difficult is it for upcoming singers to get a break in bollywood?
I come from a non-film, non-musical background. I had to start from scratch. So I know how difficult it is but I also know that it’s not impossible. All one needs to do is, practice and learn! I love both.
Recording is a very special experience because you are extremely careful about every single note, lyrics, pronunciation and emotions. On stage, live performance makes it more energetic and more interactive. They are two completely different vibes and experiences. And I totally enjoy both.
How competitive is the playback singing world?
Yes it’s a competitive world. But this is not the only profession- there’s competition everywhere, in every field. In fact, I am friends with almost everyone around. My best friend is also a playback singer. I don’t think being in the same profession has made soured anything between the two of us.
You seem to be quite happy taking up playback singing. What are the perks of singing for films- apart from obvious ones like fame, steady income, visibility etc?
I think the best perk is that we get to travel a lot for live concerts- which is amazing! One gets to see new places, meet new people etc.
What is planned for the year ahead?
Yes, lots coming up this year. I have a long way to go and lots to do; much more music has to happen.
I recently came out with my first single, composed and sung by me- it’s called ‘Rehmataan’, and with god’s grace I got huge response for the same.
