Shreya : Casual Talking @ Sydney

Talking after her awesome Sydney Concert to the Indian Link Radio Station Director Rajesh Thakur, Shreya, who hit the big time after winning a television talent quest, revealed how impressed she was with the venue specially chosen for her.“What a prestigious venue. Every performer dreams of grand venues, so to be actually singing in one is fantastic. I have already performed at Royal Albert Hall in London and now to perform at your Opera House, which is one of the best auditoriums in the world, is a dream come true. It’ll remain memorable”. And what did she think of her own performance?“I must admit I felt a bit confused at all the requests coming in, in all the regional languages!” she laughed. “But personally I thought Dholna and Ami tumhar went off very well”.Her sing-song style of speaking, switching effortlessly between Hindi and English, revealed her grounded, girl-next-door persona.“I don’t really do anything special for my voice. I am a big foodie; I love to eat, I love to talk and I do everything that one would suggest a singer should not do! I want to live my life to the fullest and I want to be happy and will do anything to keep myself happy. I am loving this city and its people – don’t you think it’s important to feel happy to perform well?”But of course she’s a thorough professional.“My normal day starts at around 9.30am and finishes around 11.00pm – I’m basically singing the whole day! On days I’m not working I invest some time in riyaaz (practice)”.Talking of current trends in Bollywood playback Shreya noted that the times-they-are-a-changing! There’s a lot less copying of the west and more of looking inwards at our own traditions.“Since last year, we’re seeing more attempts to blend in Indian melody with classical, folk and sufi music in contemporary arrangements. Such as in Om Shanti Om, for instance. You’ll get to see, in the forthcoming movies, a lot of contribution of classical singers”.Her favourite music director?“I’ll have to say AR Rehman. He is very special; he makes you very comfortable and gives you the freedom to sing the song your way. He guides you very well. Ilaya Raja is another favourite of mine from the south - I have learnt a lot from him in music industry”.But, as expected, she went all politically correct when asked to pick her favourite male singer. “I love to work with all of them, really, Shaan, Kunal, Sonu … We all have a great time singing together”.What does she think about remakes?“I personally don’t like the concept of remake and remix. I feel it takes away from the original. Having said that, though, one has to agree to do remixes at times, to fulfil the demand of the movie. Like when I did Thoda sa thehro for Victoria 2”.And what can we expect from Shreya in coming months?“I’ve got a great little number coming up in Delhi 6, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor. It’s by AR Rahman. Oh, there’s another one from Rab ne bana di jodi that I’m loving …”They’ll be worth waiting for, we’re sure.

Courtsey: Akriti Goel/Sydney