The exceptional singer Alisha Chinai is celebrating her 60th birthday. In this fascinating interview, Subhash K Jha talked with her about her singing career, the song ‘Kajra Re’, music today, and so much more!
Hello Alisha, how does it feel to have come so far?
I feel like a cat who has survived nine lives. Seriously!!!
How did you bring in your birthday?
I saw The Phantom Of The Opera at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, followed by a Mexican dinner at Lyla. I couldn’t have hoped for a better birthday.
Why don’t we hear you anymore?
Is there anything worthy of me? But seriously, I am getting my MOJO back, and I hope to be reborn once again.
What do you think of the current trends in popular music?
New Trends and composers and singers are all very good in their own niche. There are Tanishk Bagchi, Diljit Dosanjh, Arijit Singh, and Shreya Ghosal, all ruling the roost.
Do you agree that playback singing is dead?
Playback singing is dead? Hmmm… I had predicted that a few years ago. Well, it’s a good thing and a bad thing. I mean, I miss it, but the end of playback was inevitable. Nowadays, audiences have grown up. Listeners are exposed to Western sounds and are finally appreciating independent singers, and that’s great. Hindi film music will survive as long as the Music is good!!
Which songs do you consider to be milestones?
Milestones…let me see… ‘Made in India’ and ‘Kajra Re’, of course!!! These two numbers define my career. When ‘Made In India’ came out, listeners were thunderstruck. They had not heard anything like it before. A lot of the impact for ‘Kajra Re’ must go to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Your birthday wish?
My birthday wish is to go back to the future !!
Your opinion on the current music scene?
Punjabi songs and artistes have taken over in a big way. The sincerity and the commitment to their Art is something you don’t see much these days; it’s more about the Moolah.
Who are your singing idols?
I have so many… my list of favourites list is endless. But from top of my head there are a four names: Lataji, Noorjehan, Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand.
