I heard that Pune's people are cool, and now I know that for sure: Andrea Tariang

Even before she struck a chord with her character and namesake in the National Award-winning courtroom drama, 'Pink', Shillong girl Andrea Tariang was a force to reckoned with independent music scene.
Yesterday, the guitarist-vocalist did a

Bob Marley

tribute at Shisha Jazz Cafe with Pune-based reggae and ska band,

Riddim Funktion

. “Coming from a family of musicians (she is the daughter of Shillong-based musician Rudy Wallang), I grew up listening to a lot of blues and jazz, but reggae is also something I enjoy. I started doing Bob Marley tributes at the age of ten,” says Andrea.

But Andrea admits that she also agreed to the gig because she was looking forward to visiting Pune. “I visited the city once before, but that was just for a day’s shoot. This is the first time I actually got to see the city, and it was rather exciting,” quips the 25-year-old.
At present, the actor-musician is all alog over the originals she’s working on for an independent project she hopes will roll out by the end of the year. “After moving to Mumbai, I’ve worked with different musicians, many of them outside my comfort zone. With this, I slowly started moving away from the music I was used to, and began creating my own sounds. This album won’t stick to any particular genre, but will be a mix of all the styles that I love,” says Andrea.
What has life been like post Pink (and its many accolades), we asked. “It is pretty much the same, but I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved, and the message we’ve sent out,” says Andrea. A girl from Meghalaya wrote about how she identified with Andrea’s character that appeared to have little to do or say. “That’s precisely what our people, especially girls, go through in other cities. The problematic labeling of the eight states as the ‘North East’, and the name-calling isn’t fair. It’s sad that there’s so much ignorance; many people need to grow up and change their mindset,” says Andrea.
Finally, will we get to hear Andrea croon in Hindi soon? “I’m still working on perfecting my Hindi, so that’s going to take a while, though I look forward to it,” she quips, signing off.

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