Sing it like Shibani

At her two-hour gig in Chennai, Shibani Kashyap belted out popular Bollywood hits to an appreciative audience

March 30, 2015 08:15 pm | Updated 08:15 pm IST

Shibani Kashyap performing at Phoenix Market City.

Shibani Kashyap performing at Phoenix Market City.

Back in 1998, when pop music was alive and thriving, my routine post-school fixture involved watching MTV while helping myself to lunch. Among the many favourites was this particular track by Aslam Mustafa and newcomer Shibani Kashyap. It was titled ‘Ho Gayi Hai Mohabbat’. Yes, the same one that was shot by the backwaters of Kerala. That's the song that shot Shibani to fame.

"I could well say that I started my career in Chennai, as I had to come here at that point to record the songs of this album with music director Aslam Mustafa." It was through an audition that she landed this contract... an audition for Sa Re Ga Ma which had as many as 200 wannabe singers. She was 16 then.

Shibani was in the city last weekend to perform at Phoenix Market City in her first-ever commercial gig here. Except for a couple of seats, the courtyard was packed with people who grooved to her tracks that started off with ‘Sajna aa bhi ja’ and included a mix of popular numbers by other singers as well. ‘Jugni’, ‘Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan’ and ‘Dum Maro Dum’ followed, before the two-hour concert ended with a repeat of ‘Sajna aa bhi ja’. “The first time I performed on stage was in 1996, when I was part of a band named Black Slade. It has been 19 years of performing live…it excites me though I still get anxious. It's important to feel nervous," she smiles.

The Delhi-based singer started singing when she was eight. Her mother, Poonam Kashyap, was a classical singer who had even performed with Begum Akhtar. “She trained me in Hindustani classical and I sang my first jingle when I was 10," says the 36-year-old. Shibani sang her way through numerous jingles before the music video break in 1998. Post that, she sang and also composed a number of songs, including ‘Zinda Hoon Main’. "Singing is second nature to me. Composing is a challenge because it has to be commercial and viable."

Apart from live acts, Shibani has just finished recording for Meet Brothers and is working with the music composers of Jazbaa on a track for a film starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. She is also collaborating with Astitva, Rabbi Shergill and recreating yesteryear melodies. Having sung in various styles, her favourites are Sufi, jazz and a fusion of these styles with pop. After being part of the industry for 17 years and being witness to the vast changes it has undergone, she says, “I came at a time when pop music was doing well and I saw it gradually die. Today, Bollywood is the place to be. Piracy has stopped music from selling. But I am thankful for YouTube because, now, anybody with talent can upload their work and get noticed."

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