Parineeti Chopra, who is known for her acting skills, dabbled in playback singing with tracks such as Maana Ke Hum Yaar Nahi (Meri Pyaari Bindu, 2017), Teri Mitti (Kesari, 2019) and Matlabi Yariyan (The Girl On The Train, 2021). Now, the actor is on a quest to establish a second career as a live singer. In line with this, the Uunchai (2022) actor recently made her stage debut at a Mumbai music festival.

“I had been dreaming of this day for many lifetimes. I can’t believe I have finally started a second career. So now, I get to do acting and music, something no Bollywood actress has done before,” she tells us.

The 35-year-old, who used to participate in music competitions as a child, felt this was the perfect phase in her life to make a change. “I changed agencies last year, and the new management was excited to get me on the stage I dreamt of,” shares Chopra, while acknowledging the support from her husband, politician Raghav Chadha: “He’s my backbone and literally made me take that step. He saw that I’m passionate about music and said I should finally do it.”

While she has chalked out plans for cutting an album and more live shows in the coming months, the actor talks about her debut performance set. “In my head, I was telling myself the first one is a learning experience — to see how the light works, the technical and energy required,” she shares, adding, “For this show, I wanted to perform songs that mean something to me, like Pareshaan from Ishaqzaade (2012), Maana Ke Hum Yaar Nahi, the first track I recorded in a studio, and Ve Maahi (Kesari), my biggest hit ever. I also sang my nana’s favourite, Aaj Jane Ki Zidd Na Karo.”