Shreya Ghoshal- Face to face

Excerpts of the interview she gave today to expressbuzz.com

Growing up with music

I spent about 13 years of my childhood in Rawatbhata, a small village near Kota, Rajasthan. It was a township, which was cut off from the urban city life. I used to travel 10 KM up and down to Kota to learn music. I learnt classical Hindustani there. In fact, one of my initial achievements was at this place. I was nine years old then. I didn’t get the opportunity to learn Carnatic music. Then 'Sa Re Ga Ma' gave me a lot of exposure. But my first big break was singing for 'Devdas'.

Inspiration from family

My mom is a housewife and my dad an engineer. We Bengalis simply love music. My mother has been my musical inspiration and even today I look up to her opinion — be it criticism or appreciation. I need her guidance forever. But my dad silently appreciates me and whatever I am today is because of him.

Reality shows — then and now?

When I won 'Sa Re Ga Ma', the platform didnt actually become a reality show. It wasn’t that big or commercial. There wasn’t an audience reaction like today. TV itself was not that big those days. Judges in such shows used to be big names from classical music such as Zakir Hussain, Girija Devi and the like. But now the format has changed a lot. People from all over the world watch these shows, therefore the reach is bigger. Audiences make heroes out of their singers. I believe that the scope for classical music still exists, which I realised when I was doing 'Music Ka Maha Muqabla'.

Your take on remixes

I haven’t done a remix song as yet although some songs of mine have been remixed. Honestly I liked the original versions better. I'm okay with doing a remix as long as it enhances the song. I feel music enthusiasts do a fantastic job with remixes.

Is the music industry’s still a man’s world?

I would not completely agree with it. It’s a phase. Currently, it is Sufi music that is the trend and that is a male-dominated area. But things will not be the same forever.

About being a versatile singer

All that I can say is I pay close attention to the music director and lyricist when the concept and situation of a song is being explained. I write down the lyrics in Devanagri marking all the places with required accents. I try my best to sing it as perfectly as possible. But there have been occasions when I have made mistakes and I read the reviews on the Internet. I only try to improve myself.

Role Model

My role model has always been Lataji.

Excerpts Courtsey: expressbuzz.com