MUMBAI: Former Indian Idol 2 contestant, Purva Mantri is on a high these days, swaying audiences with the brilliance of her voice at live performances. Purva comes from a family which is musically enriched. “My mom was a classical singer, and I used to learn from her when I was a child. I used to perform in school and colleges and won several competitions,” says Purva.

“I didn’t want to study commerce and my dad was my backbone. He believed in me and I got the chance to take lessons from Malay Banerjee, a disciple of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi in Mumbai. I used to travel from Surat to Mumbai for my singing classes and those one and half years were the days of my struggle. I believe that gave me more strength to accomplish my dream,” she adds.

An admirer of Arijit Singh, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Usha Uthup, Purva started her career in television. Though she was a contestant on Indian Idol 2 and she was selected in the top 35, nobody actually noticed her during that time. She tried her luck in showbiz and that was her terrain. She nailed the entertainment industry with her voice and performances. She has collaborated with music producers like Badshah, Bappi Lahiri and we learn that soon she could be heard as a playback singer in Bollywood as well. Purva is loath to reveal the name of the movie, but the film is likely to release during Diwali 2016.

She recently performed in Florida, US for the second time and she believes that the international audience was ‘full of energy’. Live performances are her forte, and she is looking forward to more of these.