JOIN USShe is the daughter of the late Gulshan Kumar and is part of the family that owns T-Series, India’s largest music company. Music seems to be in Tulsi Kumar’s blood. The voice behind hit numbers like “Tum Jo Aaye” from Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, “Love Mera Hit Hit” from Billu, “Humko Pyaar Hua” from Ready, “Tu Hai Ki Nahi” from Roy, “Tere Bin Nahin Lage” from Ek Paheli..Leela, is both an affable and amicable artiste.
Having brought up in a musical family, Tulsi says it was her father who identified her talent. “I remember I was about 6 or 7 years old and would watch a lot of television and hum along with the songs. My father recognised even then that I could sing and decided that I needed to be trained so I joined classical singing classes at the Suresh Wadkar Academy and then moved on to train with Pandit Vinod Mishra. In fact, I believe that learning never stops and do my riyaaz everyday.”
To train her voice for playback singing, Tulsi started with devotional albums and remix numbers. “I was 19 when I got my first break with Anu Malik who had me sing for Humko Deewana Kar Gaye.” Soon enough she followed it up with tracks in numerous Bollywood movies. However, it was not an easy journey as she lost her father when she was just 11 years old. “I don’t talk about this but the entire world changed in a day for my family and my mom and brother Bhushan took on a lot of responsibility. For me, I have always felt his presence and I feel he has blessed me and whatever I am today is because of him.”
Close to completing a decade in the field (she started in 2006), I ask her if belonging to an illustrious family makes things easy or is there more pressure to perform. “I think, maybe, getting the first opportunity is slightly easier, but the whole game is to be able to sustain yourself and that can only come from your fans and the audience that actually loves your voice. As far as pressure is concerned, yes, definitely there are more people pointing fingers at you.”
For someone who considers that music is her passion, Tulsi admits that she has learnt to deal with pressure and only focuses on keeping her audiences entertained with her music. She has recently released her single “Mainu Ishq Da Lagya Rog”. “My brother Bhushan Kumar must be credited for bringing the concept of singles back to India. And he is now ensuring they click, as he has Bollywood stars in the video and the combination works like a charm.” Tulsi has also started her dream project, T-Series StageWorks Academy, along with husband Hitesh Ralhan recently to train students in acting, singing, modelling, dance, photography and instrumental music.
Tulsi has her hands full and says her family is supportive of her career decisions which help her further her passion for music. “Post marriage, I do shuttle between Mumbai and Delhi (where she lives), but my hubby and in-laws are extremely supportive, which makes it easy for me. In fact, they understand my profession and encourage me to take on more songs.” She has a busy schedule ahead and has several songs in upcoming releases like Phir Se, Secret and Junooniyat. Looking ahead, she says that she does not plan her future, but goes with the flow. “I do hope to do a lot more playback singing and also want to focus on expanding my venture StageWorks Academy as it is my dream project. I also want to sing more beautiful songs that will appeal to my listeners,” she concludes.