Exclusive Interview: Singer Nikhita Gandhi On Her Journey In Music And Her 3 Best Songs For Antakshari On Josh

Dailyhunt's short video app Josh celebrated India's biggest digital musical challenge 'Let's Play Antakshari' last week. This challenge included artists from the Indian music industry, where they played India's most popular game - Antakshari - with Josh app users. Talking exclusively to Filmibeat, singer, composer and performer Nikhita Gandhi shared her journey in the music industry, how she chose music as a career while studying to be a dentist in Chennai and learning at AR Rahman's conservatory, and much more.

The singer, who won accolades for her songs in Bollywood like Raabta, Ittefaq Se, Ghar and many more, has come a long way into the world of music. Talking about her first professional singing project, she said, "I was studying dentistry in Chennai, when I met Rahman (composer AR Rahman) sir. I had joined his music school just like an after-college activity. I knew Hindustani classical music before and I wanted to learn Western classical. My classes used to be two days a week, but I got so involved there that I started going to music class almost every day. I started participating in every activity. My interest in music grew. Then, during an audition, Rahman sir heard my voice and started considering me for film projects. This is how my journey started. My career in music professionally took off during college itself. By the time I completed my dentistry studies, I had sung 4-5 Tamil and Telugu songs. So I realised, I should probably pursue music now and think of making a career in it. Let's see where luck takes it."

When asked about what she does to be relevant and always up in this competitive industry, she said, "My personality is such that I work continuously. I am restless. I have a routine and I follow that. I have learnt many new things even during the lockdown. That's why I never thought about getting competitive and surviving in this industry. I do things my way."

The singer discussed about various pros and cons of the music industry, and the challenges faced by music artists with the changing trends. Nowadays, films with less songs and web series with hardly any songs are a trend.

Talking about this, Nikhita said, "This is a challenging time for sure but I don't think music will suffer in any case. People will keep listening to songs always. If there is no song in the film, artists will bring out their singles and albums and from there they will be recognised. Truly speaking, I am excited about this because, it will help people to know a singer and a composer better. If this happens, it would be a good change."

Along with Hindi, Nikhita Gandhi has sung songs in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Kannada, too. On asking how she managed to do so, the singer answered, "Although I have done most of the work in Hindi, but language is never a barrier in music. I have even sung scores for Rahman sir, which don't have lyrics."

Nikhita Gandhi signed off the interview with sharing her three favourite songs that she must sing while playing Antakshari. These are: Lag Ja Gale, Darling Aankhon se Aakhen Chaar Karne Do and Oh O, Jaane Jaana. Nikhita also shared a message for music lovers on the Josh app. "I would tell them that the music industry has always been associated with the film industry in India, but right now a change can be seen and a distancing happening. I want to tell the music lovers that we (singers) are also starting our independent journey. We are releasing singles and albums. So, keep supporting us in this change. Support our non-film songs too, so that the music industry can also grow and be better and better."

Watch the full interview of Nikhita Gandhi here: