Sister act - Hindustan Times
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Sister act

Hindustan Times | ByNanki Singh, Chandigarh
Mar 04, 2014 10:18 AM IST

Hailing from one of the most illustrious classical music families in the country, it was Shweta and Shraddha Pandit's first performance in the city on Sunday night even though their individual career charts boast of them having performed with the who's who of the music industry.

Hailing from one of the most illustrious classical music families in the country, it was Shweta and Shraddha Pandit's first performance in the city on Sunday night even though their individual career charts boast of them having performed with the who's who of the music industry.

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Dressed in sparkly outfits for their performance, the two giggle when asked what is similar between them. "We are not twins!" they laugh, adding that their sense of humour is the one thing common in them. "We catch each others' drift without saying a word," adds Shweta with a smile.

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While Shweta started singing at the age of five, she has also tried her hand at acting, having been seen in the film David and the TV serial 24. "I sang five songs for Mohabbatein at the age of 12.

Since the schedule accommodated time for only school and recordings, I didn't have time to do anything else. So, yes, acting was a lot of fun to do, especially with someone as talented as Anil Kapoor, who calls me the 'female Kishore Kumar'," she smiles. Meanwhile, Shraddha, who is lyrically more talented according to her sister, believes that in the Indian music industry, unlike Bollywood, it doesn't matter if you belong to a famous family. "It (singing) is an inborn talent; you either have it or you don't. As for us, we were blessed to have been under the tutelage of our grandfather, Pandit Jasraj, So, such training does help," says Shraddha, who has lent her voice to songs in films such as Khamoshi, Delhi-6, Band Baaja Baaraat and Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl. The singer also expresses her unhappiness with the surplus mediocre singers in the industry these days.

"Nowadays, you can get a job based on your connections and not your talent," she laments.

Their well-known lineage shines through in the girls' poised manner and style of speaking as well as their affection for each other. However, the two insist their relationship includes the usual sister squabbles, "Sometimes Shraddha wears my outfit for a performance that I haven't even got a chance to wear once. So, we do end up raiding each other's closets," laughs Shweta, who has sung for a horde of films including the recent Highway, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and various Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil films.

When asked what took them so long to perform together on stage, the two say, "We wanted to develop our own individual identities first."

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