The moment she voices the desire of being referred to as singer Ishmeet Narula, and not female singer Ishmeet Narula, you know she’s not run-of-the-mill.
She’s visibly excited about the launch of her debut album, she has an impish contagious laughter, she likes to boast about taking Punjabi music to Hollywood and blushes over the thought of being offered a movie opposite Diljit Dosanjh — Ishmeet Narula reminds you of your quirky best friend.
Though she already has made a name for herself by participating in SA RE GA MA PA USA (2009) — where she won accolades for her singles such as Ik Jindree, Jordi, Kaliyan Raatan – the reason for her real joy is about her first album finally hitting the markets.
Launched her debut album, Sakeeriyan in Chandigarh on Thursday, Ishmeet says, “One gets immense satisfaction out of an album. Though everything is available online these days, the release of an album is still essential.”
Born and brought-up in New Delhi, Ishmeet started singing at the age of four with Gurbani Kirtan.
Currently based in Calfiornia, where she moved a few years ago, Ishmeet says, “I have been performing in North America for a long time now. In fact, I have performed all over Canada and the UK and have shared the stage with people such as a Gurdas Maan, Shankar Mahadevan and RDB. But, I had been looking forward to my launch in India. There’s no doubt that NRIs make every effort to keep themselves close to Punjabi culture, but, at the end of the day, Punjab is here.”
About her album, for which she also teamed up with legendary singer Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ishmeet says, “The album is a collaboration of musical talent from India, USA, UK and Pakistan; songs have been produced by the best Punjabi producers such as Tigerstyle, Bee2 and Sachin Ahuja. The lyrics of songs such as Sakeeriyaan, Ghaint Jeha Munda, Kudi Khand Da Khedna and Trendesetter have been penned by writer Bunty Bains, while the song, Ferrari, has been written by Ranbir Singh from Scotland.”
{{/usCountry}}About her album, for which she also teamed up with legendary singer Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ishmeet says, “The album is a collaboration of musical talent from India, USA, UK and Pakistan; songs have been produced by the best Punjabi producers such as Tigerstyle, Bee2 and Sachin Ahuja. The lyrics of songs such as Sakeeriyaan, Ghaint Jeha Munda, Kudi Khand Da Khedna and Trendesetter have been penned by writer Bunty Bains, while the song, Ferrari, has been written by Ranbir Singh from Scotland.”
{{/usCountry}}But, most importantly, the song, Tere Naal, has been penned by the singer herself! After singing and writing, is she looking towards composition too? “Definitely! Composing a song which is written and sung by you is going to be so much fun! Soon, a track called Bewafa, which is written, composed and sung by me, would also be released. A lot of collaborations with DJ Vicks, Bikram Singh and Tigerstyle are also on the cards.”
By the way, Ishmeet’s favourite singers are Amrinder Gill and Diljit Dosanjh. When you ask her about the thought of being cast opposite Diljit, she doesn’t hide her excitement, evidently, by saying, “Ruk jaa. Pehla menu khush taan ho lende!”