As kids, sisters Shakti, Mukti and Neeti Mohan would perform in classrooms, parties and their bedroom. (SOURAV SHARMA)

As kids, the Mohan sisters would perform everywhere. In their bedroom, at birthday parties, in classrooms, for friends and family. Their favourite routine: Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor’s Dance Of Envy from Dil To Pagal Hai (1997). Shakti Mohan and Mukti Mohan took turns playing Madhuri and Karisma. “I was Yash ji [Chopra] and Saroj Khan,” says Neeti Mohan, laughing. They would cut their tights into shorts, and their mother would lend them lipstick and jewellery.

None of them really dreamt of a career in the spotlight. They were a middle-class family in Delhi, with zero ties to film or TV; there was no real path to get there. Yet, 30 years later, Neeti, 46, is a Bollywood playback queen. Shakti, 40, reigns as Indian TV’s go-to dance judge, host and mentor. Mukti, 38, started out as a dancer, before pivoting to acting. She’s been in Thar (2022), Lust Stories 2 (2023) and Gyaarah Gyaarah (2024).

They did it all the hard way: No filmi family, industry contacts or shortcuts. Just three sisters figuring it out together.

The Mohans are often asked how one family ended up with three siblings in show business: Is it in the genes? The training? Something in the water they drank? Even they don’t quite know. Their parents weren’t performers. They weren’t wealthy – their father was a chartered accountant, their mother a homemaker. “But they let us do whatever we wanted, be it singing, dancing or sports,” says Shakti.

In the early 2000s, even in a city like Delhi, that kind of freedom for daughters was rare. The sisters remember people pitying their father for having four daughters. (Their fourth sister, Kriti Mohan, stays out of the spotlight, managing Shakti and Mukti.)

It’s partly why Neeti had a relentless urge to excel. Reason No 2 was her younger sisters. Their father would tell her, “Neeti, whatever you do, your sisters do. No pressure.” Of course, she felt the pressure. “My sisters are like my best friends,” she says. “But they’re also like my children.” So, she leaned into the role, excelling at studies, music, dance, theatre and the National Cadet Corps.

By the time her sisters joined the same school, Neeti was the hostel head, the cultural head, the band leader. Shakti was the “naughty one”; the kind to throw a book at a beehive, just “to see what would happen”. “Teachers would complain to Neeti about me, so I was terrified of her. If she was coming from one direction, I would run in the opposite direction,” Shakti says.

Neeti in turn, made sure her sisters had a spot on stage, and coached them to do well. “I’d tell them to dance to a patriotic song – you’ll get more marks.” The strategy worked. The sisters dominated everything, from dance to basketball. They picked safer futures in college: Neeti studied Philosophy. Shakti planned to take the UPSC. Mukti wanted to pursue a Master’s in Psychology. But that was about to change.

It was the first decade of the new millennium. India was in the middle of a reality-TV boom. Farah Khan, Sonu Nigam and Anu Malik were assessing nobodies face-to-face. Talent shows were carving out a separate path to fame. Music directors were looking for new voices. The showbiz formula was changing.

Neeti was 24 when her sisters pushed her to audition for Channel [V] Popstars in 2003. When she appeared on the show, “we were bragging everywhere,” recalls Shakti. She made it to the shortlist – along with three others – to form the pop group Aasma. They released two albums before folding in 2005. But the show had given Neeti a way in, and she wasn’t letting go.

In 2009, she returned to compete on the singing show Music Ka Maha Muqqabla and won again. Then, in 2012, a breakthrough. Neeti sang Jiya Re, from Jab Tak Hai Jaan; and Ishq Wala Love, from Student Of The Year. There were awards. There was recognition. Her sisters believed if Neeti could get there, maybe they could too.

Shakti and Mukti grew up joined at the hip. “People thought we were twins, even though we’re two years apart.” Maybe it was the matching outfits and identical mushroom haircuts. Or the fact that they trained in Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance together, shared the same friends, and – for a while in college – even had the same Tata Docomo phone. So, it was hardly surprising when they entered showbiz together. In 2010, Shakti won Dance India Dance Season 2, while Mukti won Zara Nachke Dikha.

At the time, there was no real career in dancing. “You could either be a back-up dancer or assist a choreographer,” says Shakti. But with a reality TV win, they had the visibility that few dancers did. Shakti went on to judge, host and guest star on more than 20 dance shows. Mukti tried everything from comedy and stunt-based contests such as Fear Factor, to taking a six-year break in 2018 to train in theatre. “I didn’t have to worry about rent or groceries,” she says. Her sisters had her back as she worked her way up to films and web series.

The sisters say that the only downside to fame has been the invasive curiosity that comes with it. “People keep flooding our social media comments with questions about Kriti,” says Shakti. Conspiracy theorists suggest that she’s being kept out of the spotlight. “It’s so bizarre and obnoxious. She has chosen to remain private. She’s living her life. Why does she have to be on stage too?”

Shakti runs a dance studio, Nritya Shakti, for hip hop, ballet, jazz, dance hall, Bollywood and more. Mukti’s performing-arts space Mukti Manch trains aspiring actors. Both sisters acknowledge that their success came from all the people who voted for them on TV. They’re keen to pay it forward.

And, for once, they’re teaming up. Their 2025 show, Mohan Sisters Live, has played in Mumbai and other Indian cities. It’s packed with Bharatnatyam, bhangra, kathak, garba, Latin, hip-hop and contemporary routines. Neeti sings all her hits. There’s even a Madhuri Dixit tribute, making it a full-circle moment.

And just like they did as kids, they’ve shaped every detail of the show. Shakti handled choreography and the show’s Instagram page. Mukti takes charge of design and styling — from sourcing the fabrics for their glittering anarkalis to the bedazzled red JLo-style jumpsuits.

They’re not always in sync. They are sisters, after all. On 5 am flights, “Mukti and I are bouncing around,” says Shakti. “Neeti is quiet because she’s conserving her voice.” Neeti will change her seat sometimes, because she “just can’t keep up with their energy”. On their group chat, it’s the same. Shakti and Mukti flood the thread with GIFs, memes and stickers. Neeti operates in efficient one-word replies, usually to scheduling questions. Her signature response: “Available”.

When it comes to famous sisters, the Mohans admire Destiny’s Child, the Phogat sisters and the Williams sisters. But their favourite sister act of all time? “Us. Definitely.”

From debuting as a band member of Aasma (its members were the winners of the reality show Popstars) to crooning Bollywood chartbusters like Sau Aasmaan (Baar Baar Dekho), Meri Jaan (Gangubai Kathiawadi) and Nainowale (Padmaavat) and collaborating with globally reputed artistes, Neeti Mohan has come a long way in her nearly two-decade-long career. One of the artistes she has had a long association with is A R Rahman.

Talking about the composer, she says, “I’ve been performing with A R Rahman sir for 15 years and it is always such a beautiful experience. I really look up to him as an artiste and a human being. In fact, after Jiya Re from Jab Tak Hai Jaan released, I had applied to go to a music school and study abroad. But when it became a hit, I was in two minds about whether to go or explore playback singing. When I reached out to him, he told me, ‘You have a hit song now, you are going to get more, stay here.’”

Aryaveer, Neeti’s one-year-old son, keeps her busy when she’s not working. “Motherhood is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me,” she says. When recordings were halted due to Coronavirus, the new mother had shifted to her home studio for a while for recordings and now, she feels it offers her flexibility and “has worked out well.”

Talking about striking a work-life balance, she adds, “When I am travelling for work, I focus just on that and at home, I give all my attention to my son. I am lucky because my mother-in-law helps a lot whenever I am not at home.”

Neeti says it was a great experience to collaborate with her sisters Shakti and Mukti for the single Naari. She shares, “We’re the best working partners. Also, the way they look after my child is a blessing. ”

Talking about how the band Aasma, which recently completed 19 years, shaped her as a musician, Neeti says, “If Aasma had not happened, I wouldn’t have moved to Mumbai. I am really grateful for the experiences I acquired through the band. I never knew Western music but through the members, I learned a lot about it, which helped later in my career.”

Does she think the band would have enjoyed the same success today? She says, “Being part of a band is a difficult thing because every artiste has a different persona. That is the reason many artistes go solo. But I believe Aasma came to me at the right time because currently, it is more about solo artistes than bands in India.”