For 20-year-old Swati Sharrma, Banno is a special song. Not only because it turned out to be her first hit, but also because it gave her a break in Bollywood. Excerpts from a conversation with her...

Banno is your big Bollywood debut. How did you get the offer to sing the number?
Actually, I had sung a scratch of the song for composers Tanishk and Vayu. The thing with singing scratches is, you never know for what film you are singing for and if your voice will be selected or not. So, I had no hopes when I went to the studio. Tanishk and Vayu told me the line of the song and asked me to modulate my voice. They asked me to sing 'sexy' as 'saxy'. It was very quirky and I enjoyed doing it, but then forgot all about it. After two months, Tanishk called to say that my voice has been finalised. He said,“Don't jump up and down, but the song is for Tanu Weds Manu Returns.“ (Director) Aanand L Rai asked to retain my voice from the scratch itself. I was waiting to see my name on the poster and the official website. Throughout the night before, my dad was crying, and I was asking him to relax. The next day, when I saw my name on the site, I was the one crying and he was playing carrom!

Did you have to work on your accent to make it sound Haryanvi?
No, accents come easily to me. I keep doing masti at the recording studio and enjoy every second of singing. So, accents are never a problem for me. When I heard the line 'Banno tera swagger laage sexy,' I was like, what does that mean? A lot of people heard the word 'swagger' as 'sweater'.

So, what did the film's team tell you?
I haven't met the lead actors Kangana Ranaut or Madhavan, but Aanandji said he liked my voice a lot and asked me to keep up my work. In an interview, Kangana had also said that her 'pancreas hil gaye' when she was dancing for this number. These are such huge compliments for me.

Has playback singing always been your passion?
Yes, it started when I was eight. I would mimic Adnan Sami's singing in his Tera Chehra album. My father saw this and told me I must train classically if singing is what I want to and like to do. So, I started training under Pankaj Maharaj in Muzaffarpur (Bihar). I also completed Sangeet Visharad from Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh. And then I took off to Mumbai to pursue my dream. My dad loves music, but no one in our family has made it their profession. I wanted to and came here.

Making contacts in the film industry might have been difficult, given that you don't have a filmi background...
For the first 2-2.5 years, I worked hard to get links in the industry. I had no support here. I visited social networking sites, film directories to get numbers of directors and music directors. I also met a few other aspirants. Tanishk and Vayu were very helpful when I approached them with audio samples. I had no idea how the music industry functioned. I always thought you just had to give them your audio CDs, and if they liked your voice, they will finalise you for their album. I didn't know what a scratch or a rough cut was. But all the composers were kind enough to let me sing scratches.

How did you feel when your voice wasn't being finalised for any songs?
There were many moments when I'd feel very low. I'd not sleep till five in the morning. And throughout my low phase, my younger sister Shikha would motivate me. She can't hear or talk, but she has seen how mad I am about music. It's because of her that I never lost confidence in myself.

With so many newer singers getting a break in the industry, do you feel the heat of the competition to survive here?
It's a healthy trend in the industry that everyone who has talent is getting an opportunity to showcase it. If I didn't get that opportunity, I know how bad I would have felt. At the same time, I know you need to be one notch better than the best in the industry to keep getting work. But, my plus point is that I can sing all kinds of songs. In fact, I did a single Kyun Kho Gaye three months ago with Pakistani band Raeth. It's a pure soft rock number while Banno is a folksy one. I can modulate my voice and texture to suit the mood of the composition.

What next?
I have a dream, to sing in Wembley Stadium. For now, I have about four songs in upcoming film Direct Ishq, and couple more in Ek Terah Saath, for which I've sung with Sonu Nigam and KK among others. I also sang a number in an international project, Flame, which went to Cannes.