What a cruise!

Sheetal

Singer Ragini Tandan’s latest single Abhi Abhi is her take on love that is beautifully woven into lyrics by none other than her elder brother Shiv Tandan. With her earlier song Lamberghini becoming a smashing hit, she has set a benchmark for herself which is quite high. But Ragini clarifies that her intent was never to go after the numbers. She says, “Everything clicked for Lamberghini though it was my second song. I had done one more song, titled Nahi Jaana, before Lamberghini. My career has just begun and I want to sing all kind of songs and, of course, for me working is more important than worrying about numbers. You never know what will be a hit and what will be given a miss by the audience.”

Ask her what she thinks worked for her song Lamberghini and she answers, “I think it had the lyrics that millennials could relate to and an old folk tune for elders to appreciate it.”

Trained in classical music, Ragini’s parents love to sing, which exposed her at an early age to the language of singing. She now has the dream to reach out to the hearts of every common man with her songs. Ragini says, “I want to make music that interests me. I am creating content and actively taking part in composing some new music. You will see me collaborating with various artistes this year. Other than that, my shows keep me busy and there’s a lot of travelling involved.”

For her recent release Abhi Abhi, Ragini has collaborated with the Tiger Zinda Hai actor, Paresh Pahuja. The lyrics and composition is by her brother Shiv Tandan. About the new version of Lamberghini in the movie, Jai Mummy Di, Ragini has no qualms about this practice of Bollywood to rely on tried and tested Punjabi songs. On the contrary, she says, “I am happy that my song has been sung by popular singers like Neha Kakkar and Jassie Gill. Of course, I would have been happier if I got to sing the song. But at the same time, that the song is received well by the audience gives me happiness.”

Ragini has done a duet, Bashinda, with Bollywood singer Ankit Tiwari and singer-music director Arko Pravo Mukherjee.

And what is she listening to these days? She replies, “Well, Arijit Singh and Coke Studio work for me anytime, anywhere. I am a fan of Momina Mustehsan. Once I uploaded a cover of her song and my friend from Pakistan shared it, which was re-tweeted by Momina herself. It was a memorable moment for me.”