‘Keeping the sanctity of original song is important’

Singer Nikhita Gandhi believes that the trend of remixing old songs is a way to keep them relevant. The young music sensation, who is basking in the glory of her recent ‘refurbished’ chartbusters like ‘Ishq Vishk Pyaar Vyaar’ and ‘Gore Gore Mukhde Pe’, from the recently released film ‘Ishq Vishk Rebound’, mentioned the importance of maintaining the sanctity of the original song.

“It's great to remix music as long as you keep the sanctity of the original song intact and give due credit. A whole new generation gets to hear the old songs again,” she said.

Nikhita also expressed her excitement as an artiste to share a song with a singer she has always admired - Sonu Nigam - in ‘Ishq Vishk Rebound’. She performed a duet with the legendary singer, who re-recorded ‘Ishq Vishk Pyaar Vyaar’. “It’s incredibly cool to relive a song like that and bring it forward to the new generation,” she added.

Nikhita has teamed up with Badshah for ‘Gore Gore Mukhde Pe’ in ‘Ishq Vishk Rebound’ and whenever this pair collaborates, the music turns into a superhit. Remember ‘Jugnu’, ‘Aao Kabhi Haveli Pe’ and ‘Bad Boy x Bad Girl’ and how they broke all records?

The singer has also delivered several chartbusters for Pritam, such as ‘Ghar’ from ‘Harry Met Sejal’, ‘Raabta’, ‘Ullu Ka Pattha’ from ‘Jagga Jasoos’, ‘Munda Sona Hoon Main’ from ‘Shehzada’ and ‘Tere Pyaar Mein’ from ‘Tu Jhooti Main Makkar’. It seems both Pritam and Badshah have been lucky for the Kolkata-born singer.

“I don’t know if anybody is lucky for me or not, but I love working with both of them. It’s just a coincidence that so much music has come out with them. They both are killing it in their own space,” said Nikhita, who was recently in her hometown to perform at a concert on Father’s Day. In fact, she herself got a surprise when her dad also joined her on stage.

A former student of AR Rahman’s KM College of Music and Technology, Nikhita’s love for music comes from her dad, who used to sing Kishore Kumar songs during his college days.

It might seem that Nikhita’s voice is perfect for peppy songs, making her Bollywood’s go-to singer for dance numbers. However, she has also lent her voice to beautiful ballads like ‘Ghar’, ‘Qafirana’ and ‘Mujhe Chaand Pe Le Chalo’.

“I’m just happy to be able to do such good work. I don’t know if I’m the poster girl for peppy songs, but I definitely do end up singing a lot of them. That said, I also sing my fair share of ballads. I love the fact that I get to do both and represent all of it,” said Nikhita, who is extremely popular in both Bengali and South Indian music industries. She has recently recorded for a Bangladeshi project too.

When asked whether she modulates her voice according to the personalities of actresses like Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma or Kriti Sanon in songs like ‘Leke Prabhu Ka Naam’ from ‘Tiger 3’, ‘Ghar’ or ‘Munda Sona Hoon Main’, Nikhita instantly responded, “I’ve never really had to modulate for anybody. I just do my own thing. Most of the time, to be honest, I don’t even know who I’m singing for. Sometimes, you record a song and it is released much later. For instance, I recorded ‘Ishq Vishk Pyaar Vyaar’ a year and a half ago, while ‘Gore Gore Mukhde Pe’ with Badshah was recorded recently and released within a week.”

Topping the charts

• Gore Gore Mukhde Pe

• Qaafirana

• Tere Pyaar Main

• Naach Meri Rani

• Jugnu

• Leke Prabhu Na Naam

• Aao Kabhi Haveli Pe

• Raabta

• Bad Boy x Bad Girl

• Ghar

• Munda Sona Hoon Main