Nidhi Srivastava, a senior business development manager at an IT services firm in Bengaluru, wanted to record an original song. Having learnt Hindustani classical music off and on since her childhood, it was a dream come true when she got to record a duet, ‘Tanha safar mein tum mujhse milna’ with Bollywood playback singer Kumar Sanu.
She has even starred in the video, soon to be released online. Apart from this, Nidhi has also recorded and shot a peppy solo, ‘Kahe ki hu tu tu’. A busy professional, Nidhi had a three-year break from learning music.
She got back when she participated in a workshop conducted by Sunil Koshy of From Mug To Mike — a forum aimed at training bathroom singers aspiring to perform on stage. She continued to participate and train with her mentor, expressing her desire to cut a single. While brainstorming with him on the idea, Sunil suggested she try to sing with Kumar Sanu. “My first reaction was ‘Is it really possible? I grew up adoring his songs...,” says an excited Nidhi. While Sunil worked at the logistics, he and Shahdaab also co-composed the song. Lyrics were penned by Sanjay Mishra.
While Nidhi had recorded earlier as part of the team that sang the Bathroom Singers’ Anthem that was released online last year, this was her first rub with stardom. “This was a different league,” she confesses. The forum handheld Nidhi from conceptualising the songs and planning out the entire process through recordings and shoots. As preparation for the recordings, she went through a combination of direct one-to-one sessions on weekends and Skype sessions on weekdays with Sunil.
Off to Mumbai she went, where Kumar Sanu first recorded his bit at his studio in Andheri West. “I saw him learn and practise his part. He completed the recording in about 45 minutes. I recorded the day after, and Kumar Sanu heard me sing.” After the recording, Kumar Sanu said he was happy to have sung a beautiful melody, which reminded him of the 90s melodies, recalls Sunil.
The music video was professionally shot in a bungalow on Mumbai’s famed Madh Island and directed by Sharan Nair with cinematography by Johny Francis. “They did a whole storyboard. I also gave inputs. Singing I’m comfy with, but acting was surreal for someone like me who works in an everyday milieu. I mean ‘madam shot tayyaar hai’ is not something I hear every day. I felt like a star for a day.” While she spent “a few lakhs” on this project, it has been worth it, she exalts. ‘This was sort of on my bucket list ...and it will always be with me for posterity. After all, as a singer you want to showcase your voice.”
Sunil says that considering the way the independent music scene in India is growing, budding musicians should try and create more original songs, rather than just try playback singing. “This is an important step in every aspiring musician’s career, if they want to make a mark in the music industry. This also gives them the freedom to express themselves through their music,” offers Sunil.
