'Vishal has seen me grow'

Bollywood playback singer Rekha Bhardwaj loves to express herself through music. The singer, who is married to film-maker Vishal Bhardwaj, was in the City recently and spoke to Metrolife on her association with Bangalore and her
musical career.

Rekha has friends in Bangalore and feels close to the City despite not being able to come often. “I’m coming to the City after a long time. In 2010, I used to come here regularly with Vishal for shoots,” she says. “The City is expanding now. It has been growing and there are a lot of malls and skyscrapers now. The weather is still excellent but the traffic has increased a lot.” Rekha feels the traffic is worse here than Mumbai since the traffic there is more organised.

However, Rekha says that Bangalore has a global music scene. “The IT industry has also added to this. Bangalore has always welcomed all genres of music. It has strong roots in Carnatic and Hindustani music,” she says.
 “The City has a good balance of cultural and modern music. The way it appreciates music is commendable,” she adds.

The singer, who got noticed for her song Namak Ishq Ka, says that she sang the song in 2006 and in 2007, she started getting more offers.

“Stages shows started happening to me in November 2009. I only had a couple of songs at that point of time. But now, I have over 22 songs and each one is loved by the audience. For someone like me who has a different style of singing, all the songs have made me believe in myself and given me confidence,” says the singer. Talking about her practice sessions, she says that she does her riyaz regularly and cannot live without it. Ask her which films of husband Vishal would she have loved to sing for and she says, “I think I have sung for almost every project of his. I love the way he works. He doesn’t give me a song just because I’m his wife. He only gives me a chance when he feels that my voice will suit the song.” She adds, “Vishal has seen me grow the most and thus, he is able to take fair risks with me now. He also has more confidence in me now.”

On being asked if Bollywood is a regular part of their dinner table conversations, she is quick to say, “We don’t discuss Bollywood. There’s so much to talk about and we hardly get time together. So we talk about our common interests like music and books. He loves poetry and when he is impressed with something, he tells me about it.” She adds that she loves reading short stories and if she comes across something interesting, she suggests them to Vishal too.

Rekha loves all sorts of music. “It should relax me and give me peace. I love any song that has a melody to it and is able to stir my inner peace,” she voices. Be it rock, hip hop or rap, Rekha enjoys them all. But she enjoys jazz and blues more. “I love Cassandra Wilson,” she signs off.