MUMBAI: Commencing her career with hit singles in bollywood films, Tulsi Kumar has walked down several paths before bagging a track in the much-awaited ‘Dabangg 2’. Having made her mark in the devotional space and enlisting a few albums to her name, the singer has also bagged a host of projects under her family label T-Series.
Mostly venturing into the romantic genre, Kumar has rendered a love duet with Sonu Nigam in ‘Dabangg 2’ as well. Titled ‘Saanson Ne Bandhi Hai’, the Sajid-Wajid composition aims to take the audience back to the 90s with its melodic feel.
Speaking with Radioandmusic.com on the track, Kumar said, “It’s beautifully composed by Sajid-Wajid and picturised on Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha. I am sure people will like it. I enjoyed singing it and I think ‘Dabangg 2’ will be one of the duos biggest albums because all the tracks in the album are very nice.”
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Inspite of being the daughter of film producer Gulshan Kumar and sister of Bhushan Kumar of T-Series, the vocalist maintains that she did not receive any favourtism and had to go through the grind like every other singer in the industry. While recent reports suggested that Salman Khan recommended Kumar for the project, the final call on the track was taken only after a test rendition from the singer pleased the director and composers.
Being around in the industry for six years, the singer stays rooted by stating that she will always be a learner in the industry which has no end to perfection. Making her debut in bollywood with Sonu Nigam for the film ‘Humko Deewana Kar Gaye’, the songstress is back with her idol, always learning something new about playback singing from him.
“I think Sonu Nigam is one of the greatest singers that we have in bollywood today. I really look up to him. I have been listening to him ever since I was very young. There are a lot of things that I am still learning from him. The way he renders a song, the kind of feel that he delivers is great and I am trying to learn that from him. All his renditions are worth listening to on repetition because his nuance in every track is something that we as singers can learn from him,” she claims.
But as the Indian film industry is opening up to newer forms of music and exploring with sounds, the acceptance of tracks from various genres in films has also increased. Most leading singers now look to break the barriers and venture into the unexplored territory by singing songs of different styles.
Staying closer to her comfort zone, Kumar has mostly rendered tracks of the romantic genre in films in the past. But she claims that she is open to rendering dance item tracks and experimenting with different forms of music though romantic tracks work for her best considering the tone of her voice.
“After ‘Tum Jo Aaye’ I was approached for a lot of romantic numbers because the track did very well and my voice being sweet and melodious, falls in the romantic genre category. I would love to do a fast peppy number but what works for me are the soft, melodious, soulful numbers,” she expresses.
She commenced her career with devotional music before venturing into bollywood. Focusing on all aspects of the art form, the singer now juggles her hats between rendering for films, devotional music and also releasing albums in between. She says, “For an artist, every track and every genre is music whether it’s devotional, film or an album track. I am trying to do everything that I can.”
While her repertoire includes many bollywood films and devotional tracks to her credit, the songstress has not ventured much into the album space. Currently working on a series of tracks, she also reveals that they will not be compiled into a soundtrack but instead be unveiled as individual singles.
“Somehow the album scene is not too high right now. We don’t see a lot of private albums coming out. Right now, there is a lot of bollywood happening so I am devoting my time to that,” she reveals.
Apart from the singles, she also has a host of bollywood project on her platter set to release soon. Majority of her releases are under her home label T-Series which include Nautanki Saala, Aashiqui 2, I Love NY and Yaariyan.
While she will render a sufi track and a romantic number for Nautanki Saala, Aashiqui too will witness her singing three tracks composed by Jeet Ganguly. The tracks include a longing, romantic number with a sad tinge, a duet with KK and a solo track yet to be recorded.
Laying high expectations on the sequel to the popular film Aashiqui, Kumar affirms, “I am sure people will love the album as it brings a unique combination of Bhushan Kumar with the Bhatts who have a very good ear for music. Jeet Ganguly has done a fabulous job in composing the tracks. The music is sounding brilliant so I am sure people will love the music as much as they liked the previous film.”
With the music giant reignsover bollywood today with a wide array of films in its kitty, singers are grabbing any given opportunity to render with the label. Being her home label, it becomes easier for Kumar to bag films under the banner as can be witnessed with her upcoming projects.
Disagreeing with the statement, she concludes, “Without sounding pompous I would say that mostly all the music being released today is under the label of T-Series. So this gives me little opportunity to sing for other banners. I am very happy to be singing under the label as ultimately it was my father’s dream to see me become a singer and today, with the kind of work I am doing, I am sure he would be very proud of me.”
