Tulsi Kumar is young, hails from a famous musical family and is determined to make it big. She has T-Series to back her up but Tulsi knows it takes hard work to make a name for yourself in the singing world in Bollywood. Her first hit was alongside Himesh Reshammiya in Aksar and you probably last heard her crooning to ‘Love Mera Hit-Hit’ for Billu. The young and vibrant singer, however, has just come out with her own private album, Love Ho Jaaye. Based on the theme of love, the album contains a variety of songs catering to listeners of all ages. You know the girl can sing; after all, she is the daughter of musical baron Gulshan Kumar and music runs through her veins. Check it out as BollySpice interviews the young baroness to talk about her new album and her musical adventure ahead.
What is your favorite track from your debut album?
It’s very difficult for me to pick one! There are nine songs in the album and five remixes of the existing tracks. I can’t pick one but I would say ‘Jis Dil Ko’ because I really like romantic tracks.
The videos have come out very well. What was the inspiration behind them?
Yeah! The videos have come out really well. They have been directed by my bhabhi (sister-in-law) Divya. They are looking very young – especially the song, ‘Jis Dil Ko’. We shot it in Switzerland. Because it was my first album, the whole idea was to make the videos look fresh, vibrant and young. All of the videos are different from each other. ‘Radhe Shyam’ is a dance number and was shot in Goa.
What was the inspiration behind all your songs because each track is totally different to the next?
That is the reason I took so long to work on the album and even my brother Bhushan, has given a lot of input to the album. He’s been very actively involved in this album. I don’t want to offend anybody, but usually when you hear an album, you hear one kind of song throughout but in this album, there are all different types of songs. Of course, they all revolve around the theme of love, but they are all very different in genres, if you can put it that way. ‘Radhe Shyam’ is an out and out dance, hip-hop type of a number and it is fusion at the same time. ‘Jis Dil’ is romantic. The third track, that will be coming up soon is called ‘Rabba Maula’, and that is a Sufi number. And there is another Punjabi track. I have sung in Punjabi for the first time. But basically, the idea is different genres which evolve around the theme of love.
So the basic idea is love. Why did you choose Love for as a theme for your first album?
I think love is a universal feeling and I feel everyone has experienced this beautiful feeling at some point of time. Be it someone older or younger, it’s been experienced by someone at any point in time. And it the best feeling to highlight.
You changed the name of the album right? What was it originally?
We thought of “I’m in Love” initially but then we thought it was too done with so then I came up with the idea of calling it “Love Ho Jaaye.”
What motivated you the most you feel, to come out with your own private album?
I’ve done a lot of playback but I’ve always wanted to come out with my own album. Somewhere in playback I’ve been singing the same kind of tracks. I did a couple of tracks with Himesh [Reshammiya] which were all high-pitched fast numbers and so on. I have done a variety of tracks in films but I still hadn’t had the opportunity to really try my hand at something different. Now gradually, I have finally am getting the chance to sing different songs in films too. But I wanted to have a free hand and basically want to showcase new things that I can do. If you listen to the album tracks, they are absolutely different from each other and nothing like what I have done before. So that’s the reason I wanted to do the album; you can experiment more and you have a more freehand in the album. I wasn’t bound by any situation like it’s a duet song and that is your part. These are all my solo tracks and I’ve tried to give variation to my album according to the song and all tracks of a different feel. I am still doing a lot of playback but I am very bound by the script but here I could show what else I could do.
How involved were you with the production and promotion of the album?
It’s taken us one year to complete the entire album. But it is my first album so I definitely needed my brother’s support with me. But I was actively involved in every step because I wanted to also learn about production. When the videos were being discussed, I wanted to know what was going on because I was going to be projected in the video.
You come from an illustrious lineage so how nervous were you when releasing the album?
I wasn’t really nervous because I have dedicated this album to my father because it was his dream to see me become a singer. I wasn’t scared because I have done it for him and I’m sure his blessings are with me. I’ve already started receiving appreciation for the album but I wasn’t scared because my dad and his blessings are always with me. But of course, being my first album, I was a little skeptical and so was brother because it is my first album. I think it’s all going very well and I’m just keeping my fingers crossed.
How would you like to see your career develop over the next five years? A second album?
I have nothing set in my mind. I want to do a lot of playback for sure. And as for a second album, I will definitely want to work on it which I will take quite slowly. I want to try my hand at composing music for my second album. I am going to try—it’s going to take me a while.
And what is coming up next now that the album is released?
Well I am back to playback. I have sung for Ken Ghosh’s Yahoo and I have a couple of tracks in Kajra Re and there are a couple of more untitled projects that I have sung for. I am also collaborating with Adnan Sami on his album and we will have a couple of duet tracks. In fact I just sang one song with Adnan Sir and he really liked my voice so he offered me a track in his upcoming album. Apart from that, I’m also going to do a couple of tracks with Neeraj Shridhar from Bombay Vikings. He is coming out with his own album so he wants me to do a track with him. In fact he is also a part of my album in ‘Radhe Shyam’. He has helped me out big time for that track.
If you haven’t heard Love Ho Jaaye, it really is one to add to your CD collection. BollySpice wishes Tulsi the best of luck for her musical endeavors ahead.
