Talking to Neha feels like chatting up with a neighbour over the common fence. She's bubbly, candid (“Gawd! What am I saying? Sorry. I'm really tired”) and very serious about her music, all at the same time.
So, what's her latest album about? “Well, I've not decided on a name yet... still figuring it out. It's a bold album, very contemporary and very commercial too,” she says. The first number of the nine-song album set for a July release is hip-hop, and the second, titled “Tabaah” (destruction) is about love and what a woman needs. It has grunge elements,” she reveals.
She's written some of the songs in her album, and composed for two numbers, along with Gaurav Dayal of “Sorry Bhai” fame. Though she's notched up many film hits, Neha has not forgotten where she's come from. “I would not have been here but for VIVA {Channel V's girl band that she was part of}. I come from an ordinary background - my dad's an advocate and my mom a great believer in my ability - and VIVA was a stepping stone towards where I wanted to be,” states the singer who also has plans for an English album.
Neha made her Tamil debut with the chartbuster ‘Pesugiraen' from “Satham Podadhey”, though she recorded for it after the sensuous ‘Sei Yedhavadhu' from “Billa”. She's even sung a Telugu number. How does she cope with languages so far removed from her own? “I never dreamt I would sing in these languages. Sometimes, you struggle to do things that you've planned. That way, this was a gift from God. Some songs tell you, ‘I'm a special song, sing me well'. That happened with ‘Pesugiraen' and ‘Kuchh Khaas' from ‘Fashion'. Sometimes, my eyes well up when I am recording for a song. That's the power of a good tune.”
And, how does she plan to balance her interest in albums with film music? “My first love was and continues to be non-film music. It's a part of me. I dream of the day when I'll sing my own music. That day, I would have arrived,” she concludes.
