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Stars by his side
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Singer Neeraj Sridhar is enjoying his stint in Bollywood
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Photo: K. ananthan
Shining bright Neeraj Sridhar
He believes in making hay while the sun shines. But it is not just the sun that’s shining bright; the stars too are by his side. Neeraj Sridhar of Bombay Vikings is the man of the moment. If you hummed your way through his Woh Chali, Kya Surat Hai and Hawa Mein Udta Jaye then you are sure to love his new avatar as the Bollywood playback singer.
If you feel there is an overdose of Neeraj, you aren’t entirely wrong. Pyar Ke Side Effects, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, Bhool Bhulaiya, Goal, Heyy Baby, Krazzy 4
, Race…phew! And the list goes on. “The going has been good, considering that Bollywood was not on my radar,” says Neeraj. “Not that I had anything against singing in films but I didn’t think the industry had a place for my kind of a voice. People felt I didn’t have a macho voice,” he reasons.
He does consider himself lucky to have got the right breaks, but takes some credit for his success as well. “I have worked really hard. So, there is bound to be result. It is not easy to sustain yourself amid tough competition. And, I have been in the music industry since 1999,” he says candidly.
The influx of new talent doesn’t hassle him, for his philosophy of life is clear. “I believe everybody has their time. Today is mine, tomorrow it will be someone else’s,” is how Neeraj sees it.
He continues to talk about his Bollywood venture, and suddenly comes a confession. “I know I am not a great singer. I was a better singer three years ago, when I used to practise every day.”
First, you wonder whether these are just some random thoughts, but you believe him when he says, “more than my voice what I lend to a song is an attitude and a character, which I feel only I can give.I think I am a title track guy.” You can hear his Hare Krishna Hare Ram running in your mind as he says that. “I have taken music as a business. I will do whatever I can to make it succeed. But that doesn’t mean I am recording four songs in a day,” explains Neeraj.
Has he forgotten his band from Sweden, Bombay Vikings, in all this rush? “We are working on our next album, which should be out by August. I should finish it when I visit Stockholm in July,” he says.
ON A ROLL
Neeraj has just recorded a track for the Shahid Kapur-Vidya Balan starrer Kismet Connection, which has music by Pritam.
He has also sung the title track of Chandni Chowk to China for Shankar Mahadevan.
The other projects include God Tussi Great Ho,
Banda Yeh Bindass Hai and Singh is King.
Neeraj has also recorded his first regional song, in Telugu, for music director Devi Sri Prasad.
MANGALA RAMAMOORTHY
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