Nikita Deb (HINDUSTAN TIMES; June 23, 2020)

The Bollywood music industry has always boasted of beautiful female voices in the form of legends such as Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kavita Krishnamurthy, and many others. But lately, a lot of industry insiders and music lovers have pointed out the lack of female singers and songs for them in Bollywood.

Singer Shilpa Rao, who got a breakthrough with her unique voice in Bachana Ae Haseeno’s (2008) Khuda Jaane, says that she really “misses a good female album” in the industry today. “There is a situation today, where female singers and songs by female artistes are just disappearing from the scene. We have very beautiful female driven films, and I think, we need more female driven albums, too. Everyone keeps asking me why they don’t hear more songs from me in the mainstream, but this question can only be answered by the makers of the songs and albums,” says Rao, adding that this is a change that would be very welcome “because we have such great voices”.

Rao, who has been focusing more on her independent music career for a couple of years now, says that all her contemporary female singers are busy doing their own thing. “All the female singers are obviously making their own independent singles, like I have been singing ghazals for the last three-four years for no major return or anything, but just to satisfy myself and because it has been my upbringing. I am making a few singles as well, which are in the pipeline, and should be out this year. Neha Bhasin is doing her folk music, Shalmali [Kholgade] is doing her RnB music, so everyone is making their own stuff, and doing their own thing. But when people ask us where are the female voices, that’s not a question we can answer,” says Rao.

The Tose Naina Lage (Anwar; 207) singer adds that she is not asking for this change from a gender perspective, but from the point of view of talent capacity. “If you feel that yes, this female vocalist is doing justice to this film where the lead is a female, we should have a female voice sing for that film. When there is a conception of a film where the lead is a female, I would want to hear a female voice representing her attitude and personality and focus, so that is something that I would love to see. That is something that I am missing from the entire music scene. That is one change I would love to see. I just want to hear more beautiful voices irrespective of gender,” says Rao, clarifying that the problem doesn’t exist in the independent music scene where singers like Asees Kaur and Neha Kakkar are actively bringing out new singles.

Award-winning artiste Shalmali Kholgade is getting ready with her singles, the first which she says is “Hindi trap”
Beneta Fernando (MID-DAY; December 18, 2016)

"It's not a singing kind of song but more of the listening kind,” says Shalmali Kholgade. The singer, who became synonymous with the song Pareshaan from the film Ishqzaade (2012), is just days away from releasing her first indie single. The 26-year-old artiste’s comment is neither a smug statement about her indie debut nor is she absolving herself with a neat disclaimer.

“‘Aye’ is based on trap, a subset of hip hop that has been doing well in the international music scene recently,” continues Kholgade, evoking inspirational girl-power divas Beyonce and Rihanna. The subgenre, exemplified by its use of synth, rhythmic snares and kick drums, is a first for Kholgade, who explains that her first indie track is going to depend heavily on music producer, Sunny Sanour. “It’s a fully produced track and a producer-based genre with tonalities of several instruments,” she adds.

Unlike many debut indie artistes, Kholgade is more assured, yet concerned that her listeners buy into her music. After all, her voice has been showcased several times with Bollywood hits, right from her first, Pareshaan, and Balam Pichkari (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani). She won a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the former and a nomination for the latter. From mainstream cinema to soulful jazz, Kholgade went on to sing in The Bartender albums – Mikey McCleary’s soulful twists to vintage Bollywood hits. The collaboration began after McCleary watched her tribute to the late Amy Winehouse.

‘Aye’, which releases on January 9, 2017, is just the first of many tracks to come. As versatile as her musical interests (which range from Hiatus Kaiyote to John Mayer), her upcoming tracks will explore other genres — there’s going to be a house dancer number, an acoustic one later — in Hindi and English. ‘Aye’ is a Hindi trap number, a mix that Kholgade is excited about; most of her work even in Bollywood has drawn from Western music forms, like that in Bombay Velvet. “I plan to release one track every month and, when I feel I am done, I’ll compile them into an album.” With lyrics written by Parag Agarwal, ‘Aye’ will have another first for Kholgade as director.

Hesitant to tell us what kind of video it might be (Kholgade just says “bold”), the artiste tells us that the video has tapped into “a faculty of her brain which I haven’t used before.” She went with the advice of McCleary, who on a flight back from a gig told her that if she knew exactly what she wanted in her video, she should do it herself. “When he said it would be a great learning curve, I was hooked. I think of myself as a student-like person,” she says.

“I love all kinds of music and I have my phases. I am now in my dirty girl zone,” she says explaining the lyrics and the video of the song. Hoping to undo stereotypes of what is expected of men and women, the song intends to address the freedom of expression. Male dancers in heels — the thing that French dancer Yanis Marshall is famous for — was intended as part of the video but dropped later on on account of not finding the right shoes.

We wonder if Kholgade is eager to break away from the things that she is best known for. Is it time for her to showcase her versatility just as much as her voice? “Inside me, there is this feisty person who wants to do just what she wants. It may seem I am challenging myself but it is genuinely who I am. In Bollywood, there is only so much that you can do. This is me putting down my thoughts,” she says.

Singers weigh in on security concerns while performing in India, in light of the recent murder of Christina Grimmie by a fan
Bryan Durham (DNA; July 3, 2016)

Fans and admirers are an unpredictable lot. At their best, they stand one as armies that cannot bear even the slightest slight against their idol; at their worst, the same idols need to take out restraining orders against them. Worse still, tragic incidents occur around gigs and concerts, with the idol at the receiving end of a fan’s attention and cruel intentions. Former The Voice USA contestant Christina Grimmie found out the hard way at a club where she was performing, that an enamoured fan had managed to smuggle a gun into the venue where she was playing. He shot her dead.

As artists in this country will tell you, most people in most places and venues are the best kind. But, at times, in certain places, crowds do get unruly. For example, earlier this year, a DJ was shot dead in North India for not playing a request. But by and large, such incidents are few and far between. We asked young, popular singers with legions of fans what their security concerns were and what precautions, if any, could be taken...


Shalmali Kholgade
Frankly, I haven’t imagined a situation like this, arising in my career. At least, not at this point. I have admirers and fans, but I have always assumed they are realistic in their idea of who I am. Having said that, during a government festival, college show or any public gig, it is important to have adequate security to avoid any unruly behaviour. My manager has the final say in what is safe for me to do and what not. I don’t question her judgement.


Anushka Manchanda
I usually don’t feel threatened during, before and after a concert. Sometimes there are huge crowds which are pushing and pulling, but I always have big, beefy security guards who are very vigilant, and my manager and team are super protective about me because I’m totally out there and never hold back. In different parts of the country and at different shows, the audience is always different. I would be more careful at a public show than a corporate one, or in the North of India than in the South. Danger can come from anywhere in any form. All you can do is be careful and not incite or invite trouble.


Neeti Mohan
This kind of an incident can happen to anyone irrespective of the quality of security measures undertaken, since artists generally get up, close and personal with fans at public events and there’s a high risk of threat to life when it comes to any public figure. However security measures such as screening of all fans at entry points with metal detectors, assigned artist security personnel, personalised electronic gate passes for all crew members, sniffer dogs at key access points, screening of meet-and-greet fans is a must. I would even go the extent of suggesting artists wearing bullet-proof jackets, artist’s families being insured and organisers ensuring all ticket holders have a clean police record. Artists in India don’t have standalone security riders really and that would be a great start to things. The basic requirement of venues being patrolled by local police and then being cordoned off 12 hours before a show is a must, with sound check happening only 24 hours before the show instead of the general norm of an hour before the show. Backstage green rooms should have strict regulations minus the ad hoc walk-ins and the live stage should also have armed personnel and not just stage managers. But I think, at the end of the day, if someone is mentally unfit, the chances are he or she will find a way to do something socially unacceptable. At the end of it, artists and fans are very closely integrated and no amount of monitoring can really protect an artist from a calamity of this sort.


Jasmine Sandlas
What happened to Christina Gimmie is heart-breaking. I pray that her loved ones find solace in the memories that they have shared together. As a performer, this incident doesn’t motivate me to necessarily beef up my security but it reveals to me that there should be an effort to increase awareness of mental health issues and treatments. I feel that there are many signs of distress before an act of violence is committed. It’s important to recognize these signs and get professional help before it’s too late. This way, we can combat the bigger issue at hand. I hope something like this never happens to anyone again.


Shipra Goyal
Often, I get to hear news of skyfires (celebratory gunfire), at our very own Indian weddings, which sometimes end up in untoward accidents. We all are aware of this. Not only weddings, though. Apparently, clubs in the metros are not safe either becasue sometimes one hears of people entering with guns. So, as an artist, it scares me, if the venue I am going to be performing at, a history of such incidents. I clearly refuse to go onstage Or the event managers or organising people they have to make sure of my security and remove any alien element or threat present in my audience. For security reasons, I have my personal bouncers present with me during all my shows. But yes I feel there is a strong need for change in regard to security of artists across the globe because not just this one case, there have been numerous of artists shot down dead while performing in Punjab or Pakistan, too!

Lakshmi V (BOMBAY TIMES; June 13, 2016)

Mohar Basu (BOMBAY TIMES; March 30, 2015)

Parag Maniar (BOMBAY TIMES; February 18, 2014)

Shalmali Kholgade, who gained popularity with the track Pareshaan (Ishaqzaade, 2012) is excited about her 12-city US tour, which will commence in March. Her 75-minute-act will be a multimedia audio-visual extravaganza, which will showcase a mix of music, colours, visuals and dramatic performances. Says she, “With this tour, my endeavour is to take things to a new level. All of us like an honest musical performance. When music, drama and dance are woven into a single fabric, the audience is bound to get a complete Bollywood experience.” The singer, whose other popular numbers include Lat Lag Gayi (Race, 2013) and Balam Pichkari (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, 2013), has already performed across countries like Mauritius, Kenya, South Africa, Dubai, Bahrain, Muscat and Canada.