OnTheBeatWith | Shalmali Kholgade: Never thought when my song would release or who the actors were

At the age of 8, Shalmali Kholgade began her tutelage in music and by the time she was 16 she started performing on stage. In her early 20s she made her Bollywood debut with Amit Trivedi’s Pareshaan, penned by Kausar Munir, for the Parineeti Chopra-Arjun Kapoor starrer _Ishaqzaade_. Her powerful, melodious rendition of this number was noticed and in the same year 2012, she sang Daru Desi from Cocktail and Lat Lag Gayee from Race 2. Next year she was part of another stupendous chartbuster Balam Pichkari from _Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013)_. And there has been no looking back since then.

Talking about the time when she began her career in playback singing for the Hindi film music industry, Shalmali says, “These were all songs that were recorded at a time when I was still discovering myself. Still figuring out what my voice could do, where my voice would sound good, because these were all opportunities that music directors like Pritam, Vishal- Shekhar and Amit Trivedi gave me. They were the masterminds who put my voice against their music and said, ‘oh this might work’ or ‘this sounds good’, and that gave me an opportunity to get to know what the scope of my voice is and what I could do. I remember when I was in the recording studio, I was always wondering what they would make me sing next. I was never really worried about when the song would be released and who the actors were and how the film would be. I was just always excited to be in the studio and singing these compositions.”

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And this simple admission showcases beautifully how passionate and dedicated she has always been when it came to her work. Music and singing were all she cared about, even at the beginning of her career, as a 20-something singer.

Shalmali’s Pareshaan was much-loved and showcased her range, her throw and her ability to emote and navigate all nuances. “There is one memory about the recording of the song Pareshaan which is still etched in my mind. Especially because something like that has never happened since then. The director of the Ishaqzaade, Habib Fiasal, painted that entire scene in front of me where Parineeti is standing and looking in a certain direction and she is singing these lines etc. And he shot that scene exactly as he had described it to me. I don’t know if he had already shot it, or he was going to shoot it, but the imagery that he painted in front of me while I was dubbing, was perfect. He wanted a certain emotion to come through the whole performance and it was so identical to what I saw later in the video of the song! There are very few opportunities for us singers where the director, the lyricist and the composer are all in the room and are making sure that the vocal dub is happening to their satisfaction. Most of the times a singer dubs a song and goes home, and the people involved in the film listen to the recording and come around with feedback saying, we want this change or that change or this is great or this is not the approach they wanted and then the singer would come back and redo that song. But Pareshaan was that one song that was recorded over a couple of sessions because there were some changes with the lyrics, but all these people, Kausar Munir, Habib Faizal and Amit Trivedi would always be there. All three of them would be in the studio when the song was recorded.”

Shalmali has worked with some of the best composers in the music industry and has had the chance to be a part of songs from multiple genres. Who are her favourite composers we ask and she says, “It will be very hard to choose one because they are all amazing and they are all so different in the way they work and the kind of compositions they make. The most fun and the most surprising - like you never know what you are walking into when going to his studio - is Pritam. Sometimes, it would be something really melodic like Daru Desi in which that part, ‘Sath hum jo chale, Bann gaye kaafilein, Aur koi hamen ab mile na mile, Mauj hai roz hai, Roke se bhi naa ye rukte kabhi silsile’ is such an interesting composition and has such a wide range. You would be singing that and then you would be singing a song like Lat Lag Gayee, which is an out and out dance number. So, it has been really exciting for me to go into a session with Pritam because I have absolutely no idea what he is going to make me sing. I think it is amazing that he still manages to do that. In the last couple of times, I went into his studio, I felt like I discovered something in myself, thanks to his compositions.”

For most people, while music is what draws one into a song it is the words and the inherent emotion of that song that stays with you and make you press replay. Shalmali feels that if it is a song that has words to it then music or lyrics, one does not prevail over the other. Usually, one cannot live without the other, that’s just how music is. “It is not just me, but I guess anyone would say that especially because music is what draws you into the song and then you pay attention to the lyrics. You don’t instantaneously listen to the words first; you see if you can move to the music or if that music evokes something in you first. I know that when I have said that I like a song, I have said that because I have loved how the marriage of music has happened with the lyrics. So, I can never choose one over the other.”

Shalmali has sung in multiple films and her peppy numbers are always a hit at the live events and music concerts that she is a part of. The powerhouse performer that she is, Shalmali can keep her live audience hooked to her non-stop, foot-tapping hits on stage along with her dancing skills. While she has been delving into independent music and doing her own thing in the last two years, she does believe that film music is still the medium that gets you the eyeballs and grabs attention and fans.

“Film music is what helps you become famous. But is becoming famous really all that you wanted? This is the question, I feel, artistes should ask themselves. In my life and my career, I really got fame so early on. I sang my first song Pareshaan and there was fame. That is how life happened for me. But I still felt this bit of ‘wanting to do my own thing’ and to write my own music and be in-charge of my own life, which I have been doing now for the last two years. And that has not made the kind of name that film music has, at least not so far. But I know that if I keep going and if I am passionate towards what I am doing right now, independently, then I will make a name for myself even with non-film music.”

Debarati S Sen is a consultant journalist and writer who writes on music, culture, theatre, films, OTT and more. Instagram: @DebaratiSSen

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