Singer Daler Mehndi is a happy man. A recent announcement by the Indian Singers Rights Association stated that singers will now get royalty for their songs and Mehndi thanks late legend Lata Mangeshkar for it.

“Royalty toh hum sab singers ko milni hi chahiye thi. India mein badmaashi thi kuch music companies ki. Shayad composers aur lyricists bhi nahin chahte the ki singers ko royalty mile. Yeh toh Lata didi ki meherbaani se hua hai jo hum sabko hamare rights mil gaye. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji respected Lata didi a lot. She requested him to put this into effect and he agreed,” says the 55-year-old.

Talking of music labels, the Tunak Tunak Tun singer, like many musicians in India, has his own label now and he recently released a single under his banner. Though several musicians have cited lack of freedom while working with music companies as a reason for starting their own labels, it doesn’t apply to Mehndi. 

“Mujhe toh koi pressure nahin lagta. Main sabke saath gaata hoon. If the other party is not happy with my song, why will I say, ‘Main toh aise hi gaaunga’?” the singer ends.