Annamika's original song

Like Madonna I hope to catch the pulse of the masses because that?s the only way you can be a hit, says livewire singer Anamika.

She Dreams of singing along with Gloria Estefan and Madonna, her two inspirations, some day. “Madonna is over 40 and she still rocks! She is one artiste who has managed to reinvent herself with the times. She is my biggest role model,” says Annamika.

HT Image

The Indipopper is on a roll with Hai Dil Deewana, her seventh album that has 10 songs. In an era where remixes rule, Annamika had to push really hard to launch an album with original songs written and composed by her. And it was Crescendo Music’s Suresh Thomas who stood by her decision. “I was quite hurt when most music companies refused to release the album and wanted remixes. If an established artist like me has a tough time, I shudder to imagine what will happen to newcomers,” says Annamika.

The livewire performer realises that music companies, too, need to earn money and that’s why every time Annu Malik is asked why he picks up a song and remixes it, his answer is: To deliver a hit. It may have took me a year to find a record company but it was worth the wait,” adds Annamika.

The music director for the album is Julius Packiam, with whom Annamika has worked with on albums like Cocktail and Kaamal Ho Gaya. The video, shot in a NOIDA studio by director Vinil, is done gracefully and avoids any show of skin. “The highlight of the video is the coin jacket I flaunt. I picked it up from J Lo’s boutique in Los Angeles, USA.”

The album also features Sajna Tere Bina, a song by Annamika’s favourite Nusret Fateh Ali Khan that has been reconstructed (not remixed) ingeniously by her. “I adore Nazia Hassan and I’ve done my own version of Disco Deewane too,” says Annamika.

Trying to move away from the usual Punjabi stuff, Annamika has introduced the flute in the song Woh Hai Zara. The singer, who won the best singer award at the Bollywood Awards in New York ahead of names like Sunidhi Chauhan and Asha Bhonsle, has come a long way from her first album Catwalk, released in 1997. “Like Madonna I hope to catch the pulse of the masses because that’s the only way you can be a hit,” she concludes.