Voice squad

Singer Harshdeep Kaur speaks about movies and television in conversation with Chesta Wadhwani.

Not Hard Kaur, here’s Harshdeep Kaur in conversation with Chesta Wadhwani.

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Your song Lut jau from Karzzz is doing very well..
Yeah it is. The music is catching up. Himesh Reshammiya was looking for a different voice for the song, and he thought my rustic voice would be right for it.

You won Lux Junoon Kuch Kar Dikhane Ka.. you were called the audience ki ladli on the show..
(Laughs) In a way it was tough to beat established singers like Abhas Joshi and Malini Awasthi. My genre of music was sufi. The show had Pakistani singers rendering songs in rich Punjabi but I simplified my songs.. and made them more appealing for the young listeners. I think that worked.

Would you consider Ek Omkar from Rang De Basanti your breakthrough?
(Gushes) Yes, yes, yes. I might even do a Punjabi musical.. titled Ek Onmkar.

At 21 you have worked with nearly all the music directors.. A R Rahman, Vishal-Shekhar, Pritam, Anand Raj Anand, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Pritam..
More the merrier.. I’d want to sing more for them, especially for A R Rahman sir.

So you thank reality television for it?
I do. Initially the audience only related to the voice. Now they know me by face.. It’s a big deal. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, my mentor, has extracted the best out of me.

What’s in store?
Quite a few projects. Kajra re and Idiot Box and my private sufi album. I play the piano, I am a pure musician. Whatever I do in the future – acting or TV — has to be related to music.