Track changed

Manpriya Singh 

His status says more than he can possibly express. My biggest song Prem Leela for Salman Bhai from Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. For singer Aman Trikha, life after being the vocal Prem might be similar but feels a lot bigger. 

Last checked, this big change came post the decision to quit the management firm (which his academic degree landed him into) and begin the rounds of studios and auditions. Reality show Sur Kshetra followed and so did his first song Go Go Govinda for OMG: Oh My God.  

“It’s definitely a high of the highest order. And it came in a package,” he shares of the film and now thankfully changed perception of his singing style. “While I was happy but somewhere I was a little unhappy about being offered only similar kind of tracks after Po Po, Khiladi Bhaiyya from Khiladi 786 and of course the Hookah Bar.”  

Such is the image business in Bollywood. “It happens on its own, you don’t create it but it creates you.” Post his first romantic single Mahiya Tu Hi Tu and lately after Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, all that’s history. 

“As a playback singer my sole concern is to be true to the soul of the song, but deep down somewhere I want a body of work which conveys my voice in totality and my versatility,” shares the singer, originally hailing from Delhi but with a large extended family in Chandigarh. 

“I keep coming to the city often. Since I have an extended family on paternal side settle there.” 

Bollywood these days 

There was a time when the entire movie album could have easily been attributed to a sole singer. The likes of Kishore Kumar hardly had alternatives, let alone competitors.   

Reality shows, talent hunts, online mediums only mean more playback singers with smaller shelf lives. 

“Let alone singers, think about actors turning singers. That’s the biggest threat we are facing,” he laughs. On a serious note, he is downplaying the cut-throat competition that is a norm in the industry. “You have to be on your toes, be ahead of your times, be ahead of others for that matter, keep reinventing yourself, think of ways expanding yourself as a musician.” 

That explains the covers, singles, including even his rendition of British rock band Queen’s famous song Bohemian Rhapsody. Sung as a tribute to the late Freddie Mercury on his birth anniversary. 

“I listen to everything and when I say so, I mean it. I listen to Queen, Mehdi Hassan, Freddie Mercury, Coldplay, Guns n Roses, Madonna...I haven’t boycotted any genre.” Coming is, a “I have a love ballad and a travel song in Khel to Ab Shuru Hoga, then there’s a song for Dilli Kand and a JP Dutta film. So, you’ll hear lots of me in times to come.” Till then. 

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