‘What An Engineer Earns In A Month, We Earn In 2 Hours’

‘The
more
popular,
the
more
work,
the
more
money.’

Singer

Saloni
Thakkar
is
happy
that
her
new
track,

Namo
Namah
Shivaya,
is
out
and
is
receiving
love.
Composed
by
Devi
Sri
Prasad
aka
DSP,
the
song’s
video
features
Sai
Pallavi
and
Naga
Chaitanya
from
their
upcoming
Tamil
film

Thandel.

The
song
is
special
for
Saloni,
who
calls
herself
an
‘independent
artist’.
It
marks
her
foray
into
the
South
after
doing
playback
for
numerous
Bollywood
films.

“The
South
Indian
people
give
you
respect.
The
way
they
work
is
excellent.
Until
I
gave
the
right
take,
DSP
was
not
satisfied.
He
made
me
sing
for
three
to
four
hours.
He
was
so
patient,
and
yet
so
adamant,”
Saloni
tells

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.com.

How
was
your
experience
of
singing
for
Sai
Pallavi?

The
song
is
in
Tamil
and
her
lip-sync
is
also
in
Tamil,
and
I
am
dubbing
the
Hindi
version.
It
was
very
tricky
because
you
have
to
match
the
lip-sync
and
the
expression
needs
to
be
correct.

And
you
have
to
match
her
energy,
the
way
she’s
performing
and
portraying
her
character.

I
had
to
keep
the
same
feeling
and
power
in
such
a
heavy
track.

I
was
singing
full-throated
in
the
studio
and
had
to
rehearse
it
15-20
times
before
giving
the
final
take.

I
had
this
feeling
that,
you
know,
I
should
match
the
power.
It’s
a
Shiva
track
and
the
way
they’re
dancing
is
insane!
So
I
had
to
keep
in
mind
that
I
must
match
their
performance
level.

What
was
it
like
working
with
DSP?
How
did
you
get
in
touch
him?

It
was
very
random.
I
have
no
connections
in
the
South.
I
am
in
Mumbai,
and
work
in
Bollywood.

I
got
a
call
from
an
unknown
number.
It
was
his
manager.
He
said
DSP
sir
wants
to
try
your
voice.

I
could
not
digest
the
fact
that
they
got
my
number
and
wanted
me.

They
said
you
have
to
come
in
the
morning.
It
was
a
6
am
flight
and
the
song
was
supposed
to
release
after
two
days.

I
went
to
Chennai,
and
met
him
there
for
the
first
time.
They
told
me
they
got
my
reference
from
my
YouTube
channel
and
liked
my
voice
from
one
of
my
music
videos.

How
long
have
you
been
singing?

I
have
been
treating
myself
as
an
independent
artist.
My
YouTube
channel
got
viral
during
COVID.
I
work
on
my
music
production
and
have
my
own
studio.

I’ve
been
singing
since
I
was
very
young.

I
used
to
sing
in
school,
college
and
in
my
locality.

During
that
time,
I
got
in
touch
with
Sukh-E
(songwriter
and
singer).
He
heard
me
and
straight
away
asked
me
to
come
for
his
shows.

He
made
me
believe
that
I
had
that
stage
presence.
That’s
how
my
journey
started.
It’s
been
seven
years
now,
since
I’ve
been
performing
and
singing.

I
sing
jingles,
sing
in
movies
and
serials.

I’m
also
busy
with
live
events.

How
old
were
you
when
you
recorded
your
first
song?

I
was
20.
It
was
a
title
track
for
the
film,

Veere
Ki
Wedding,
starring
Pulkit
Samrat
and
Kriti
Kharbanda.

That
was
a
wedding
song
and
I
am
known
as
a
wedding
performer.
So
it
was
such
a
coincidence.

I
am
known
for
my
versatility.

If
you
see
my
videos,
I
sing
songs
of
Sidhu
Moosewala,
unplugged
sessions,
Punjabi,
Gujarati,
Marwari…

How
do
you
look
at
competition
in
the
singing
world?

There
is
a
lot
of
competition.
Everybody
works
very
hard.

If
you
believe
in
yourself,
if
you
have
talent
and
are
passionate,
it
happens.

I
had
never
thought
DSP
would
call
me.

With
films
don’t
do
well
in
Bollywood,
everybody
focusses
on
their
independent
things.

Being
an
independent
artist,
you
have
to
create
your
songs,
do
the
production,
mix
it,
master
it,
give
your
best
vocals,
and
then
shoot
it,
promote
it…

The
responsibility
is
not
just
singing,
it
is
also
about
the
reach.

I
have
recreated
a
song
called

So
Gaya
Ye
Jahan
with
Jubin
Nautiyal.
It
was
backed
by
T-Series
but
it
did
not
make
any
difference
for
me.
It
just
came
and
went.
So
I
realised
I
have
to
pull
up
my
socks
and
work
on
myself
in
every
way.

That’s
why
I
started
my
YouTube
channel.

Did
you
see
any
difference
between
Bollywood
and
Southern
musicians?

Yes,
there
is
a
lot
of
difference.

The
South
Indian
people
give
you
respect.

Randomly,
I
got
a
call
from
DSP.
They
gave
me
a
business
class
ticket,
a
room
in
a
five-star
hotel.
When
I
went
to
his
studio,
they
were
so
kind.

The
way
they
work
is
excellent.
They
are
so
particular
about
the
pronunciation,
about
the
feel.

Until
I
gave
the
right
take,
DSP
was
not
satisfied.
He
made
me
sing
for
three
to
four
hours.

He
was
so
patient,
and
yet
so
adamant.
As
an
artist,
it
was
very
impressive
to
see
his
passion
towards
his
work.

I
have
sung
in
Bollywood.
I
have
done
scratches
for
the
A-list
composers
here.
They
just
dub
us
in
20
or
30
minutes
and
will
say,
see,
we
finished
the
recording
in
just
half
an
hour.

Just
like
actors,
even
singers
need
to
work
on
their
brand
image
today.
It
is
visible
from
their
social
media,
fashion
outings,
public
appearances.
Do
you
enjoy
this
extra
effort
that
you
are
expected
to
put
in,
which
is
otherwise
so
different
from
your
core
profession?

Yeah,
there
are
a
lot
of
things.
I
am
constantly
thinking
about
what
to
post
next,
what
to
wear
next.

I
can’t
repeat
clothes
for
events.

The
image
is
very
important
but
it’s
not
everything.

I
don’t
know
why
singers
are
so
much
into
this.
Because
it
is
there
in
the
market,
I
follow
it.

But
my
focus
is
on
singing.

I’m
a
very
reserved
person.
Doing
these
things
is
a
heavy
task
for
me.

I
work
on
my
Instagram,
Facebook
and
YouTube
simultaneously.
That’s
why
I
have
had
no
time
in
the
last
two
or
three
years.
My
team
and
I
are
working
day
and
night.

How
expensive
is
it
to
be
a
singer
today?

It
is
expensive
but
you
earn
a
lot
also,
no?

If
you
compare
this
to
an
MBA
or
an
engineer,
what
they
earn
in
a
full
month,
we
earn
in
two
hours
by
performing.

It
is
up
to
you
how
you’re
taking
up
your
profile,
and
how
popular
you
are.

The
more
popular,
the
more
work,
the
more
money.

There
are
camps
within
the
music
industry
where
certain
people
prefer
to
work
only
with
their
favourites.

Oh,
it
exists
100
per
cent.

They
all
work
in
camps.
They
all
work
in
groups.

I
don’t
know
on
what
basis
these
singers
get
opportunities.

I
have
no
idea
what
goes
on
in
these
camps.

I
am
not
a
part
of
a
single
camp,
and
I
don’t
even
want
to
be.

I
think
real
talent
should
come
up,
and
if
you
are
giving
songs
to
a
talented
singer,
a
good
voice,
then
the
composer
will
also
grow.

That
is
why
Lata
Mangeshkar
was
given
all
the
songs
because
through
her
voice,
the
composers
got
the
limelight.

It
was
a
very
different
thinking
at
that
time.

I
don’t
relate
with
today’s
times
at
all.

Who
do
you
consider
your
idols
from
the
music
world?

Lata
Mangeshkar,
obviously.

I
really
wanted
to
meet
her
once,
but
it
didn’t
happen.