Singularly devoted

Amarjot Kaur

Though music has been an evident career choice for Teesha Nigam, who is the youngest sibling of Bollywood playback singer Sonu Nigam, she has only waited so long to come up with her first single because she wanted to do the right thing at the right time.

Born into a family of musicians, Teesha experimented with Bollywood playback singing with films like Singh Saab the Great and in Telegu films too. However, drawn to freedom, she took to composing and producing a single, Katna Nahi, independently. The single has been promoted by Times Music.

The song, which was originally sung by Pakistan-based Sajjad Ali, has many renditions, including the one by Coke Studio, but Teesha maintains that her version of the song was aimed at making it more modernised and urbanised.

“I wanted to give this song an urban flavour and it is very different from the original song. In fact, I was really happy, when Sajjad ji praised the song and even tweeted about it,” shares Teesha.

Considering the recent ban on Pakistani actors and TV shows after the surgical strikes that were deemed as India’s retaliation to the Uri attacks, Teesha attempts to be politically correct as she distances herself from both, the debate and the politics behind it. “I chose this song about a year ago and even sought Sajjad ji’s permission for it, but now that the situation has become so tense between the two nations, I can only speak of things from an artiste’s perspective for I am not interested in the politics of it,” she says.

“Like all artistes, I feel that only love is real and my love and passion for my art is all I care for. I respect all artistes from everywhere across the world and that’s what matters to me,” she adds.

Talking of Katna Nahi and its rendition Teesha says, “Unlike most people who look down upon covers and song renditions, I think it’s a back-handed compliment to the original singers. I feel very happy when people cover my songs.”

Besides, Teesha also enjoys the creative freedom of singing and composing the song independently, though she maintains that she enjoys Bollywood too. “When it comes to Bollywood, they just want to give people what they want to hear and I enjoy it, even though there’s not much experimentation. But, I love the creative liberty an artiste gets while making music, independently,” she signs off.

amarjot@tribunemail.com