“Kuch Khaas Hai…”are the lyrics of her much appreciated song from the film, ‘Fashion’. Groomed to be part of India’s first all-girl pop group VIVA, a result V's Popstars, Neha Bhasin has sung in Assamese, Tamil, Punjabi and Hindi and has been the face of ‘soulful teen pop’ in India.

A trained classical singer, songwriter, choreographer, stage planner, composer, actor, playback singer, jingles crooner, mimic and a TV show host, Neha talks to Radioandmusic.com's Nikita Sharma about her varied intereests..

Excerpts-

Tell us something about your new solo Hindi Pop album....

The album is scheduled to release in September or November but the name hasn’t been decided yet. Gaurav Dayal is composing the music. It is a reflection of who I am as an artiste at this stage of life. I have always been confused as to what kind of musician I am. I love doing songs in which there is a lot of move and I love songs which evoke feelings, emotions and thoughts in people. I know I am both, I like the sexy moves and I like the tears. So my album is going to be for both the audiences. We have songs which have rap and Punjabi singing, and also there are songs which I have written myself, pop rock. I am also featured in some of them.

So the album is in a modern way and it is ‘ME’. Pop rock and dance is the genre of the album. I have also collaborated with a leading American R-n’B artiste but I don’t want to talk about it right now, he‘ll be rapping in one of the songs but it is not confirmed yet.

Also, a self-composed International English album is in the pipeline…

Yes, that is my second biggest dream and I have also written a couple of songs for it, but I am looking for a producer for it. I already have the lyrics and compositions done. So this would be my next step after my solo gets released.

You also have done a lot of work in the Tamil industry...

The good thing is that I had the opportunity of working with many people around the country. I have sung in Assamese, Tamil, and Punjabi. I have done a lot of precious work in the Tamil industry and got a lot of accolades for it, they were all big films and I also received Best Playback Female Singer Vijay Award for the song 'Pesugiren' in ‘Satham Podhathaey’. One thing I know is however big I become and wherever I go, I would never stop singing for the South Indian Film Industry because I owe a lot to them, they gave me love when I really needed it and I felt connected to that part of our country. They have immense love and faith in my potential which keeps me always going in life. Especially after singing in the south I realized that language is a barrier we need to break because now the way I connect to them they even listen to my Hindi songs.

Can you tell us more about your non-Hindi film work?

I never wanted to be an in-the-box kind of singer. I want to do everything possible in singing. I won’t say I multitasked but as a singer, musician, artist, performer, I don’t want any limits for myself. I want to collaborate with French, Indian, American, South Indian artists, the sky is the limit and I am going to do that. I have also collaborated with Malaysian Hip Hop artiste MC JayZ on a track (Thaniye) from his recently released album. I have even sung for a music director in Kerala, it was an English song. I just sang in Telugu. Bollywood of course is my biggest dream and so is non-film music …I don’t care - Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada; I want to sing everything that’s good. I want to conquer this whole country and honestly speaking, this is my dream.

What do you think about the status of non-film music in the music industry today?

I think we as artistrs should stop fearing failure. I have nothing against Bollywood music, in fact I got my first Filmfare nomination for a film song which gave me recognition. But at the same time, I also want that we should create a non-film genre of music and make people understand that these are two different things; because in film music you are a part of a script whereas in non film music you are yourself. It gives you the maximum self expression that an artist can ask for, it’s like breathing for us where we can sing, say and produce what we want to. And I want this to happen on a more parallel and commercial level as it is in the west. We need the audience’s support and their love.

The fame, accolade, applause is all secondary but if the connection is not there then none of it matters.

How difficult was it to learn South Indian languages?

I did find it tough when I sang but my pronunciations are good, a lot of credit goes to the music director Yuvan Shankar Raja’s assistant Vasudevan.

Was being a part of VIVA a boost or hurdle for you to make space in the big industry?

Yes, getting into Bollywood was difficult but it was not something I absolutely went running after. I had worked with Salim-Sulaiman in VIVA and also written lyrics for Aadesh Srivastava in ‘Hari Puttar’. I feel, to make your mark in Bollywood is difficult because you have to wait for that one really good song to make your point and after that things start flowing. I was just lucky that my first commercial release "Ek Look Ek Look" from movie ‘Aryan’ got recognized.

How was the experience being the mentor on Real TV’s reality show ‘Sitaroon ko Choona Hai’?

I started my career with a reality TV based Talent hunt Pop stars conducted by music TV Channel [V]. So it feels nice to give a little bit of whatever I have learned, from my journey. My job here is to teach them how to perform and this is my forte. So it’s nice that I am learning with them and I am teaching them too.

Acquaint us with your upcoming projects…

In Hindi, I have sung the title track for K Murali Mohan Rao’s ‘Daddy Cool’ which would be coming up after this multiplex fight gets over, Raghav Sachar’s song ‘Charming Lootera’ is up, then in Tamil there is a big film called ‘Yogi’ and I have sung the title track of it, also there is a film in Telugu called ‘Current’.

“Kuch Khaas Hai…”are the lyrics of her much appreciated song from the film, ‘Fashion’. Groomed to be part of India’s first all-girl pop group VIVA, a result V's Popstars, Neha Bhasin has sung in Assamese, Tamil, Punjabi and Hindi and has been the face of ‘soulful teen pop’ in India.

A trained classical singer, songwriter, choreographer, stage planner, composer, actor, playback singer, jingles crooner, mimic and a TV show host, Neha talks to Radioandmusic.com's Nikita Sharma about her varied intereests..

Excerpts-

Tell us something about your new solo Hindi Pop album....

The album is scheduled to release in September or November but the name hasn’t been decided yet. Gaurav Dayal is composing the music. It is a reflection of who I am as an artiste at this stage of life. I have always been confused as to what kind of musician I am. I love doing songs in which there is a lot of move and I love songs which evoke feelings, emotions and thoughts in people. I know I am both, I like the sexy moves and I like the tears. So my album is going to be for both the audiences. We have songs which have rap and Punjabi singing, and also there are songs which I have written myself, pop rock. I am also featured in some of them.

So the album is in a modern way and it is ‘ME’. Pop rock and dance is the genre of the album. I have also collaborated with a leading American R-n’B artiste but I don’t want to talk about it right now, he‘ll be rapping in one of the songs but it is not confirmed yet.

Also, a self-composed International English album is in the pipeline…

Yes, that is my second biggest dream and I have also written a couple of songs for it, but I am looking for a producer for it. I already have the lyrics and compositions done. So this would be my next step after my solo gets released.

You also have done a lot of work in the Tamil industry...

The good thing is that I had the opportunity of working with many people around the country. I have sung in Assamese, Tamil, and Punjabi. I have done a lot of precious work in the Tamil industry and got a lot of accolades for it, they were all big films and I also received

Can you tell us more about your non-Hindi film work?

I never wanted to be an in-the-box kind of singer. I want to do everything possible in singing. I won’t say I multitasked but as a singer, musician, artist, performer, I don’t want any limits for myself. I want to collaborate with French, Indian, American, South Indian artists, the sky is the limit and I am going to do that. I have also collaborated with Malaysian Hip Hop artiste MC JayZ on a track (Thaniye) from his recently released album. I have even sung for a music director in Kerala, it was an English song. I just sang in Telugu. Bollywood of course is my biggest dream and so is non-film music …I don’t care - Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada; I want to sing everything that’s good. I want to conquer this whole country and honestly speaking, this is my dream.

What do you think about the status of non-film music in the music industry today?

I think we as artistrs should stop fearing failure. I have nothing against Bollywood music, in fact I got my first Filmfare nomination for a film song which gave me recognition. But at the same time, I also want that we should create a non-film genre of music and make people understand that these are two different things; because in film music you are a part of a script whereas in non film music you are yourself. It gives you the maximum self expression that an artist can ask for, it’s like breathing for us where we can sing, say and produce what we want to. And I want this to happen on a more parallel and commercial level as it is in the west. We need

The fame, accolade, applause is all secondary but if the connection is not there then none of it matters.

How difficult was it to learn South Indian languages?

I did find it tough when I sang but my pronunciations are good, a lot of credit goes to the music director Yuvan Shankar Raja’s assistant Vasudevan.

Was being a part of VIVA a boost or hurdle for you to make space in the big industry?

Yes, getting into Bollywood was difficult but it was not something I absolutely went running after. I had worked with Salim-Sulaiman in VIVA and also written lyrics for Aadesh Srivastava in ‘Hari Puttar’. I feel, to make your mark in Bollywood is difficult because you have to wait for that one really good song to make your point and after that things start flowing. I was just lucky that my first commercial release "Ek Look Ek Look" from movie ‘Aryan’ got recognized.

How was the experience being the mentor on Real TV’s reality show ‘Sitaroon ko Choona Hai’?

I started my career with a reality TV based Talent hunt Pop stars conducted by music TV Channel [V]. So it feels nice to give a little bit of whatever I have learned, from my journey. My job here is to teach them how to perform and this is my forte. So it’s nice that I am learning with them and I am teaching them too.

Acquaint us with your upcoming projects…

In Hindi, I have sung the title track for K Murali Mohan Rao’s ‘Daddy Cool’ which would be coming up after this multiplex fight gets over, Raghav Sachar’s song ‘Charming Lootera’ is up, then in Tamil there is a big film called ‘Yogi’ and I have sung the title track of it, also there is a film in Telugu called ‘Current’.