‘I will never do an item song’

Singer Hema Sardesai on social activism, digitising music and her long-due return to Bollywood.

The last Bollywood airwaves heard from singer Hema Sardesai was in 2007, when the crooner sang the theme song of the all women’s hockey team, Badal pe paon… for the patriotic movie Chak De! India (2007). Sardesai, who at one point was hailed as the queen of indi-pop, then disappeared from the industry. The singer since then has been carrying the baton of social activism around the country.

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For women
Sardesai spends most of her time spreading the cause of women empowerment, fighting for the girl child and is also part of a few ‘save Goa’ initiatives. The singer is now releasing a song called She is the winner… to mark International Women’s Day on online music website, Artistaloud.com. “I really feel strongly for women’s issues, especially the girl child. I have given up a lot to do research on women’s issues that impact the country and the sheer destruction of ignorance about what girls are capable of. I gave up full time playback singing to spend more time towards this cause,” explains Sardesai.

Charm lost
The singer, who at one point was the hit churning female vocalist of the industry, felt that around the beginning of the 21st century, indie pop and film music lost its inherent charm. “There were so many double meaning songs where women were objectified. I have lost a lot of work because of that. But I still stand by it. I will never do an item song,” says the singer.