Anushka Manchanda: Sachin, Jigar and I always bond over food

How did Dance Basanti happen? I have a (working) relationship with (composers) Jigar and Sachin since the time they started working for films. In fact, I used to meet them at Pritam’s studio. That’s where I first met Jigar. He used to work with Pritam earlier. They first called me for 'Piya Kesariyo' (Hum Tum Aur Shabana). They are amazing with their work and are fun people.We ended up hanging out and would always bond over food. They called me for the English rap parts of 'Dance Basanti' (Ungli) and then they were like, ‘Kya khayegi? Chal yeh khate, woh khate hain...’ And then, I ask, ‘Gana kya hai?’ Vishal (Dadlani) had already sung his bit. He had done a lot of ‘Ba ba Basanti…’ and a lot of cuts like that. Jigar, Sachin and I bounced off our ideas. I was also looking at doing something interesting with the rhythm… tadadada… which is not exactly on count. I wrote the rap section. Of course, Amitabh Bhattacharya has written the song, but the English part was by me.
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What was it like to sing a duet with Vishal Dadlani? Duets these days are not really like that. The singers are never really in the studio together 90% of the time. He had done his part and I did mine later. I think he is really cool. I have always admired and respected him because he is someone who speaks his mind. He has a ‘no bullsh*t’ attitude. You don’t have many people like that. I used to look up to Vishal and think, ‘What a killer guy — he is from a rock band, he is doing indie music and he is doing Bollywood, and all really well.
What was brief given to you by Sachin-Jigar? They told me that she (Shraddha Kapoor) was doing something really different for the first time. The guy is singing a song for a hot girl. The girl has the ‘I know I am cool’ and ‘I know I am all that’ kind of attitude. It is a cool space for a girl to be in. It was an easy brief. I pitched my voice and sung it almost from the back of my throat, really light. Originally, my voice is quite heavy, when I sing from my stomach. But we wanted to make it really girly and feminine and sexy. So, even the singing was like that. I enjoyed it. The thing is that if you have a relationship with people, working with them is smooth.
You’ve been around in playback singing for over a decade now. How has the journey been? Yes, in 2004, I did the first Tamil playback and two years later, my first Hindi playback. I used to get a lot of work down South but then got busy. When I started singing, it was interesting because there weren’t too many people doing what I was doing. People used to ask, ‘Kya aap westernised gaa sakte hain?’ The accent actually came naturally to me and it’s one of the reasons I got a lot of work at that time, because there weren’t too many people in the scene.
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with everyone. Now, I feel like I want more. These days, I often have this conversation with my mom... how things have changed so much. Now, there are a hundred new singers and they all are very good. They are driven. They are new and they want it and they will work hard for it.
Do you prefer recording in the studio or performing live? I just love to sing on stage, I love to perform but when it comes to recording in a studio, I am still nervous. Even now. Recently, Salim (Merchant) called me to do something, and I was nervous. On stage, I am never nervous. I feel like I am home and this is where I belong. I don’t have to think about anything. Just like on stage where I know my strengths as a singer, at a recording studio, I know my drawbacks. Since I am not classically trained, it is harder for me to do particular modulations. Kuch harkat karni hoti hai gaano mein and it does not come naturally. When Salim sang a certain way, I could copy him and do it but on my own, it wouldn’t come.
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WATCH: Dance Basanti - Official Song - Ungli