Bollywood songs can wait: Priyanka Chopra

Actor Priyanka Chopra, a National Award winner and trained western classical singer, is currently in the USA, recording her debut pop album in English. Her page on Twitter was full of congratulatory messages from her fans and colleagues, including Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta.

Actor Priyanka Chopra, a National Award winner and trained western classical singer, is currently in the USA, recording her debut pop album in English. After the actor tweeted about it on Friday morning, her web page on micro-blogging site Twitter was full of congratulatory messages from her fans and colleagues, including Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta.

HT Image

A couple of months ago, it was reported that she was planning to cut an album in collaboration with popstar-friend Lady Gaga. And at the moment, Troy Carter, who also looks after Lady Gaga’s work, is handling her international music assignments. So, is the collaboration on?

“I would love to work with her because she’s immensely talented and a fabulous human being,” beams Priyanka. “But it’s too early in the day to announce any collaborations on the album with any national or international name. And this is most certainly not the album that I was ‘reported’ to be working on with Lady Gaga. Anyway, we’ve just started recording. So, once we’re a little more into it, maybe we can think of associations and make some important announcements.”

Composer Salim of duo Salim-Suleiman introduced the former Miss World to the label last year. “This was in the pipeline but it was a tightly guarded secret till now. I’ve always enjoyed listening to music and singing. I sang a line or two for myself in one of the versions of Khuda Ya Khair… (Billu). But despite offers, I didn’t take up singing because I wasn’t prepared to handle two careers. But this time, I took the plunge,” says Priyanka, adding that the label hasn’t decided on a release date for the album yet. However, she informs that it will be on shelves in India and the US, simultaneously.

So, will we find her singing for Bollywood movies, for herself and a couple of her colleagues too? “Not right away. Playback can wait,” says Priyanka, firmly. “My careers will go hand in hand but at the moment, the album is my focus. But I will sing for Bollywood in the future.”