Big labels have the muscle power to do wrong things the right way: Neha Bhasin

The singer says that she is part of the system and hence, knows how disruptive it can be, but she was ‘not born to follow people’

Singer Neha Bhasin is not once to her words. She has always stood up for things she believed in and continues to be the same way despite the hurdles this brings in her career. And she says that she knows the pros and cons of being this way and is okay with it.

“Breaking out of shackles and doing things your own way always comes at a price. There are pros and cons of being this way and the biggest pro is that your soul remains intact. This way, you can stay true to yourself as a person and as an artiste. But if I was with a label, I would be heavily marketed. Labels have a lot of muscle power to do wrong things the right way. Unfortunately, in our industry, everything is based on perception. Labels have years and years of content. So, they have a lot more muscle power because of the amount of content they have. But people perceive it as the artiste being very famous. I work in the system so I know how disruptive the system is but having said that, unfortunately, I was not born to follow people,” says Bhasin, who has maintained a career in Bollywood music as well as in the indie circuit in a balanced manner.

 

She adds that she likes doing things her way because she doesn’t work very well under other people’s authority. “I have too much of a mind of my own and I have too much of anger and rage in me as a person to take bullsh*t from anybody and I learned that very early on in my life. But unfortunately, I still feel the need to be included though I never do anything to achieve that. However, I think I have finally shed that expectation now. I have realised that acha karo ya bura karo, duniya toh bolti rahegi and they will always have their own opinion about you. Toh duniya ke liye nai kar sakte kuch bhi. I am here to live by example. I practise what I preach and I put my money where my mouth is,” says the Dil Diyan Gallan (Tiger Zinda Hai; 2017) singer.

Having said that, Bhasin is happy that things have become better now. “Streaming platforms are featuring my songs now and radio stations are also somewhat playing my tracks. I have had to wait it out but ab shayad logon ko thoda samajh aa raha hai,” says the singer who has released a new track titled Kehnde Rehnde, which is a track that speaks against cyber bullying.

“It was definitely one of the best experiences ever because I feel confident, happy and very much in sync with whatever I am singing. Although there are some limitations in the video, this single is a 100% in sync with who I have always wanted to be as a pop star. And I enjoyed performing unabashedly in the video. The pandemic definitely made things more difficult than it was supposed to be. Actually, we were talking for a month and we were supposed to make the video in a much smaller scale but the director was in Goa so we decided to fly down there and shoot it there. It was easier in Goa but that was the first flight I took after seven months so I was obviously scared. But it was really good to get away because we have all been locked in our houses for so long. So, it was good to step out and see the sea. It was good to see people and I am just glad that I got to do this. But it was definitely difficult,” says the Dhunki (Mere Brother Ki Dulhan; 2011) singer.

 

Bhasin adds that even though she was apprehensive of stepping out, she nose-dived into it and is glad that she did. It was very important that we all got tested before going because as an artiste, I can’t wear a mask because I had make up on. So, I took my driver and my spot and my own team from here and we were all wearing kits in the flight. It was definitely a bit unnerving. It is a different time today. The simple things that we took for granted earlier, have become full of paranoia now. I have actually finished a lot of shoots and stuff so I have taken my risks and I have decided to stay indoors now. I had a great time though to just step out and I really enjoyed travelling,” she signs off.