‘A Lot Of The Impact For Kajra Re Must Go To Aishwarya’

‘The
sincerity
and
commitment
to
art
is
something
you
don’t
see
much
these
days;
it’s
more
about
the
moolah.’

Singing
diva

Alisha
Chinai
turns
60
on
March
18,
and
gets
us
all
nostalgic
about
the
hit
songs
she
has
created.

She
tells

Subhash
K
Jha, ‘Hindi
film
music
will
survive
as
long
as
the
music
is
good.’

How
does
it
feel
to
turn
60?

I
feel
like
a
cat
who
has
survived
nine
lives!

How
did
you
bring
in
your
birthday?

I
saw

The
Phantom
Of
The
Opera
at
the
Nita
Mukesh
Ambani
Cultural
Centre,
followed
by
a
Mexican
dinner.
I
couldn’t
have
hoped
for
a
better
birthday.

Why
don’t
we
hear
you
anymore?

Is
there
anything
worthy
of
me?

But
seriously,
I
am
getting
my
mojo
back
and
hope
to
be
reborn
once
again.

What
do
you
think
of
the
current
trends
in
popular
music?

New
trends,
composers
and
singers
are
all
very
good.
Tanishk
Bagchi,
Diljit
Dosanjh,
Arijit
Singh
and
Shreya
Ghosal
are
ruling
the
roost.

Punjabi
songs
and
artistes
have
taken
over
in
a
big
way.

The
sincerity
and
commitment
to
art
is
something
you
don’t
see
much
these
days;
it’s
more
about
the
moolah.

Is
playback
singing
dead?

I
had
predicted
that
it’s
a
good
as
well
as
a
bad
thing.

I
miss
it
but
the
end
of
playback
was
inevitable.

Audiences
have
grown
up
now.

Listeners
are
exposed
to
western
sounds
and
are
appreciating
independent
singers.

Hindi
film
music
will
survive
as
long
as
the
music
is
good.

Which
songs
do
you
consider
to
be
your
milestones?

Made
in
India
and

Kajra
Re.

These
two
numbers
define
my
career.

When

Made
In
India
came
out,
listeners
were
thunderstruck.
They
had
not
heard
anything
like
it
before.

A
lot
of
the
impact
for

Kajra
Re
must
go
to
Aishwarya
Rai.

Who
are
your
singing
idols?

I
have
so
many,
the
list
is
endless.

But
on
the
top
of
my
head,
there
are
a
four
names:
Lata
Mangeshkar,
Noorjehan,
Celine
Dion
and
Barbra
Streisand.