Garima Yagnik may have been confident about her singing in her second single (and first solo), Naina Kyun Barse, but one person she was scared to play the song to before its release was her aunt, crooner Alka Yagnik. The young artiste laughs, “She’s such a big legend that it always makes me nervous to get her feedback.” But, that’s not the only reason why she prefers getting the famed Bollywood songstress’ (whom she calls Buji) opinion after her tracks are ready. The Londoner, who’s a singer as well as a theatre actor, talks to us about her work, her favourite Alka Yagnik songs and more.
WESTERNISED VOCALS
Naina Kyun Barse is a break-up song but musically, it’s a dance track. Garima mistook it for a sad song when composer duo Naresh-Anand approached her to sing it. “The opening lines go, ‘Naina barse kyun, aankhein bheegi bheegi hain. Din soona soona...’ but the vibe of the number is so fun. I loved that contrast,” she states. “Besides, my debut single Meherbani (with Keshav Kumar) was a typical Hindi and soft romantic track. I’m more inclined towards western music. This one was a fusion with Indian sound, so I tried it out,” she adds.
BEING ALKA YAGNIK’S NIECE
Even though she is Alka’s niece, it wasn’t just her songs that Garima grew up listening to. “I was raised in London. So, I was exposed to western music and vocally, I’m influenced by jazz,” she informs, quoting Sunidhi Chauhan as her one of her idols in Bollywood. She adds, “But Buji is my favourite and the most ultimate voice ever. We sing casually at parties or home while relaxing or at dinner and it’s always fun.” Even though she can rely on Alka for her expert advice before creating or singing songs, Garima has reservations about using it. “Honestly, I feel I would be cheating. I want to make my own mistakes and learn from them. I wish to have my own growth and journey as an artiste.”
NOT AN INDUSTRY KID
Garima is aware of being perceived as an industry kid for whom making inroads here has been a cakewalk. “I’ve barely had an exposure to the industry, because I used to only come here on holidays,” she states, adding that right now she is hustling to promote herself as a musician. “As a new artiste, it’s a little difficult to get people to listen to your stuff,” she says. It may also seem like singing was the obvious first choice for her, but it wasn’t. “I didn’t think my western singing style would work in the Indian music industry. So, I didn’t consider a career here. But my family opined I needed to give it a shot since I was so passionate about it.” Now that Bollywood is open to different sounds and genres, she hopes to find a place here. Though comparisons with Alka is inevitable, Garima emphasises, “I want people see me as just a new artiste trying to have her own sound.”
UPCOMING WORKS
Right now, Garima is busy with the theatrical wedding musical Balle Balle!, a typical Bollywood big fat Indian shaadi fare that is showing at the Kingdom of Dreams in Gurugram. “It has a romantic track sung by Buji and she came for the rehearsals once. It was nerve-racking for me,” she laughs. She looks forward to recording for other composers and having grown up on Bollywood movies like most NRI kids, singing for films is a dream she cherishes.
