The singer whom Lata Mangeshkar praised
When he recreated old songs, Lata Mangeshkar expressed approval. Today, Neeraj Shridhar is the hit-machine of Bhagam Bhag, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Billu and Kal Kissne Dekha. Obviously, the man has carved a niche for herself
You
are
probably
the
only
successful
name
to
move
from
remixes
and
re-creations
to
being
an
in-demand
playback
singer.
In
those
times
my
struggle
was
about
when
and
which
would
be
my
next
song.
But
let
me
tell
you
that
the
nervousness
is
far
more
now
than
it
was
at
that
point!
It
is
more
than
a
decade
since
Lata
Mangeshkar,
no
less,
praised
you
at
a
concert
in
Mumbai.
How
can
I
forget
that
evening?
I
was
not
at
my
best,
and
still
Lataji
made
it
a
point
to
tell
me,
"Mujhe
pasand
aaya" about
my
recreation
of
her
Padosan
song
Main
chali
-
and
it
was
at
her
own
concert!
That
was
such
a
privilege!
The
old
songs
have
a
charm
that
cannot
be
described.
I
know
that
music
cannot
stay
the
same,
but
the
old
style
of
knitting
the
film
and
the
song
together
cannot
be
matched.
You
were
known
as
Bombay
Vikings
before.
Please
explain.
My
parents
moved
to
Sweden
when
I
was
about
fourteen.
I
formed
a
band
there
-
I
was
the
leader
but
also
the
only
one
who
wasn't
a
gora.
I
needed
an
apt
name
for
my
band
and
went
through
the
usual
kind
of
ethnic
Indian
names
like
Om,
Shivam,
Delhi
Vikings
et
cetera
and
then
thought
of
Bombay
Vikings,
which
sounded
nice.
By
the
way,
very
few
people
know
that
music
is
the
second-largest
export
of
Sweden.
As
a
band,
we
did
gigs
in
Germany,
Holland,
Austria,
Chicago
and
other
places.
We
would
sing
Hip-Hop,
Soul,
Funk
and
Rhythm
&
Blues
in
Swedish
and
English,
but
with
my
strong
Indian
influence.
We
finally
dismantled
the
band
in
1995.
How
did
Kya
soorat
hai,
your
maiden
re-creation,
happen?
I
was
always
fond
of
Hindi
film
music.
My
mother
sings
and
I
have
inherited
the
gift.
I
was
travelling
by
train
to
a
German
town
when
I
looked
out
of
the
window
and
saw
a
car
travelling
parallel
to
the
train,
just
like
in
the
song
Mere
sapnon
ki
rani
from
Aradhana.
Suddenly,
I
began
singing
aloud
in
the
empty
carriage
and
that
too
in
English
to
fit
the
tune.
When
I
reached
my
studio,
the
musicians
just
loved
the
song's
unique
flavour
and
began
to
play
it
on
their
guitars.
That
was
the
genesis
of
what
ultimately
became
my
first-ever
album,
Kya
Soorat
Hai,
my
version
of
Zaroorat
hai.
But
this
happened
after
I
had
kept
the
project
in
the
closet
for
five
long
years!
So
you
too
had
to
go
through
the
classic
struggle
in
India.
Yes,
Sony-BMG,
then
called
Sony
Music,
was
the
only
company
to
take
my
album
as
it
was.
So
many
music
companies
turned
me
down,
saying,"Yeh
nahin
bikega"
(It
won't
sell).
They
wanted
changes.
After
that,
of
course,
I
got
an
offer
from
Universal
Music.
The
album
Woh
Chali
Woh
Chali
was
released
in
2003,
with
four
remixes
and
five
originals,
followed
by
Chhod
Do
Aanchal
Zamana
Kya
Kahega
and
Zara
Nazron
Se
Keh
Do
in
2004
and
2006
respectively.
The
song
Angel
eyes
in
Hindi
and
English
became
a
rage
and
was
performed
in
countries
like
Trinidad
and
Tabago
to
an
audience
of
35,000!
You
are
seen
as
a
trendsetter.
(Smiles)
There
was
another
side
to
my
struggle
too
-
I
had
to
face
immense
criticism
then
for
mixing
English
with
Hindi!
But
today,
things
have
changed.
I
am
thought
of
as
a
man
who
changed
the
look
of
music!
My
forthcoming
album
with
T-Series
is
an
original
soundtrack
of
what
I
always
wanted
to
do
and
Bhushan
Kumar
insisted
that
I
do
whatever
I
feel
like
doing,
so
it
does
seem
that
I
have
come
a
long
way!
I
am
happy
that
though
it
took
a
long
while
for
the
industry
to
digest
my
voice,
it
has
happened.
And
which
was
your
first
song
in
films?
My
first
break
in
films
was
Pyar
ke
naam
pe
in
Rules
-
Pyaar
Ka
Super-Hit
Formula
(2003)
with
music
by
Sandesh
Shandilya.
I
also
sang
Dil
di
nazar
for
Himesh
Reshammiya
in
Maine
Pyar
Kyun
Kiya.
But
yes,
the
good
times
began
with
Bhagam
Bhag.
Pritam,
in
that
sense
and
more,
is
my
mentor.
Someone
has
to
give
an
opportunity
to
an
artiste
that
takes
him
to
big-time
and
for
me
that
was
Pritam!
Most
of
your
post-Bhagam
Bhag
work
has
also
been
for
him.
Yes.
all
of
Pritam's
songs
with
me
have
been
hits,
whether
it
was
Ishq
da
kalma
in
Goal,
Baat
pakki
in
Just
Married,
Race
saanson
ki
from
Race,
Ae
pappi
from
Kismat
Konnection,
Tha
karke
and
Vacancy
from
Golmaal
Returns,
Talli
hua
from
Singh
Is
Kinng
and
Love
mera
hit
hit
from
Billu
and
the
biggest
of
them
all,
Hare
Ram
Hare
Ram
from
Bhool
Bhulaiya,
which
was
huge.
But
this
song
was
more
about
a
hook-line
than
the
composition
itself.
As
a
song,
I
agree
that
anyone
could
have
sung
it.
But
it
had
this
strange
X-factor
that
caught
on.
I
also
worked
on
the
English
portion
of
the
lyrics
and
had
a
great
time
working
with
Sameerji.
Who
are
the
other
music
directors
you
have
worked
with?
The
list
of
music
directors
who
are
calling
me
is
widening,
thankfully,
and
their
songs
too
have
been
mostly
popular
-
Rajesh
Roshan's
O
re
lakad
in
Krazzy
4,
Vishal-Shekhar's
Halke
halke
from
Honeymoon
Travels
Pvt.Ltd
and
Salim-Sulaiman's
Aaja
maahi
from
8X10
Tasveer
were
also
appreciated.
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
and
Sajid-Wajid
have
also
been
very
supportive.
When
I
heard
Shankar
sing
out
Ticket
to
Bollywood
in
Jhoom
Barabar
Jhoom
and
the
title-track
of
Chandni
Chowk
To
China
to
me
as
playback
assignments
I
asked
him
why
he
wanted
me
when
he
was
singing
so
fabulously
himself.
But
he
insisted
that
they
were
songs
best
suited
to
me!
JBJ
was
a
very
big
song
for
me
at
that
time,
with
a
combination
like
Yash
Raj
Films
with
Gulzar!
And
when
Shankar
told
director
Nikhil
Advani
of
CC2C
that
only
I
could
sing
the
song,
it
was
nothing
less
than
an
honour.
I
also
sang
for
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
in
Heyy
Babyy.
I
have
now
recorded
for
Anu
Malikji
in
Kambakkth
Ishq.
And
let
me
tell
you
that
it
was
a
truly
wonderful
experience!
What
else
is
coming
up?
Pritam
has
given
me
an
extraordinary
song
in
Imtiaz
Ali's
new
film.
Pritam
always
gives
me
a
lot
of
freedom.
He
believes
that
a
singer
should
come
up
with
his
best.
How
do
you
see
this
trend
of
non-singers
singing
more
as
a
novelty,
genuine
playback
singers
singing
far
less
and
the
general
trend
of
ignoring
the
basics
of
good
singing?
You
see,
what's
happening
in
the
West
is
beginning
to
happen
here.
A
fresh
voice
with
an
attitude
is
needed!
Till
a
few
years
go,
it
was
about
not
singing
even
one
note
wrong,
but
today
you
can
go
and
do
it.
In
punk
rock,
for
example,
you
are
not
supposed
to
sing
properly
-
they
call
it
"singing
loose"!
Changes
are
bound
to
be
there,
I
guess.
What
is
the
kind
of
music
you
yourself
love
to
listen?
Among
my
prized
possessions
is
a
CD
of
Ustad
Allahrakha
and
Zakir
Hussain.
And
I
adore
Lata
Mangeshkar,
Asha
Bhosle,
Mohammed
Rafi,
Manna
Dey,
Mukesh
and
Kishore
Kumar.