Aditi Singh Sharma, who has sung Offo from 2 States, on music, Mumbai and her friends in the industry
Kasmin Fernandes (BOMBAY TIMES; April 4, 2014)

We hear you’ve lived all over the place...
I was born in New Delhi, lived in Warsaw (Poland) during my kindergarten years and in Moscow for five years after that, since my dad was working there. I joined high school in New Delhi, and later went to Sri Venkateswara College.
 
Chart your musical journey.
I trained in Hindustani classical music when I was four years old before moving to Moscow. I tried taking piano lessons there, but soon got bored. Back in Delhi, I sang at various intercollege competitions. I fronted two rock bands, Crimson and Level9, after college and did a few jingles. I met Ehsaan (of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) at an awards ceremony I was hosting. He played my songs to Shankar (Mahadevan) and that’s how I landed Chhoti Si in High School Musical 2. Amit Trivedi once attended my gig in Mumbai and called me to his studio to try out my voice for a song, which turned out to be Yahi Meri Zindagi from Dev D.
 
Which songs are you happy with?
It’s a battle between Raabta, Dhoom Machale, Dhat Teri Ki, Choomantar, Main Heroine Hoon and Dilli.
 
How did Offo from 2 States happen?
I had just landed in Mumbai after a three-city tour with rock band Parikrama and Friends, when I got a call from Ehsaan asking me to test a new song. I went straight from the airport to the studio. I heard Offo there and loved it, it’s very me.
 
What challenges do playback singers face today?
All of us have our own battles. I had to work on my diction and accent, balance out my western style of singing and adapt to a more Indian style. I’m still working on it. Living in a city you have never even visited before becomes challenging. Mumbai is not an easy city to live in all by yourself, however once you work hard and are slowly able to make a home here, it keeps you going.

We’ve seen you cheering other singers at gigs. Who are your friends in the industry?
 I am all about the love and support. It’s what keeps me going. Whenever I get a chance to show my support, I take it to the next level. I make sure I stand right in front when my friends are performing on stage. What’s the point of going to a gig to show your support if the artiste is on stage while you are chilling outside the venue? That doesn’t make any sense to me. I’d rather not show up! The truth is I have a one-on-one relationship with almost all the singers. With all fellow playback singers, I have either shared stage with, travelled for gigs, cooked for, shopped, watched movies and partied with. It feels great that I can actually call anyone from my phonebook and say, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ Among close friends who know about my personal life, struggles and achievements, ups and downs, there is (lyricist) Amitabh Bhattacharya, (singer) Apeksha Dandekar, and music producers Sunny Sanour and Abhijit Vaghani and their families.

Would you rather be known for chartbusters or songs you believe in?
Out of the 25 songs I have sung, some are chartbusters and some are really good tracks that just didn’t get noticed. The kind of songs you get called to sing are out of your control because that’s something the music directors take a call on. But I would love to sing the songs I believe in and hope they all become chartbusters.