Neeti Mohan emerged victorious in a music talent show nearly twenty years ago, triumphing over a sea of aspiring singers and embarking on a journey to stardom as a pop sensation. Teaming up with her fellow winners — Jimmy Felix, Sangeet Haldipur, and Vasudha Sharma — Neeti co-founded the band Aasma, churning out one chartbuster after another, including the popular track ‘Chandu Ke Chacha’. Fast forward to the present day, Neeti stands tall with a flourishing solo career marked by a string of hits such as ‘Ishq Wala Love’, ‘Jiya Re’, ‘Sau Aasmaan’, ‘Meri Jaan’, a testament to her enduring musical prowess.
The singer was part of the recent edition of Royal Stag BoomBox which also featured other popular artists like Badshah, Nikhita Gandhi, Armaan Malik, Ikka among others. Neeti Mohan who has previously collaborated with the platform exclusively talked about the concept of merging Hip-Hop with Bollywood music, her musical journey and more.
Here are the excerpts:
Royal Stag Boombox created a unique blend of Bollywood and Hip-Hop. What drew you to this project and what can fans expect from your participation this year?
Royal Stag Boombox is a new sound and this is the sound of the new generation, and for me to connect with youth is very exciting. Because there are more possibilities with youth, and there is always something that you, as a musician, challenge yourself and get to do something more different that you have not done. Like, for instance, for me, I had never done a collaboration with a Hip-Hop artist, and as a Bollywood labeled singer, it’s like Melody meets Hip-Hop, and I think for me that was very exciting in Season 1, and I am very, very excited to be part of Season 2 as well of Royal Stag Boombox, because it’s just the connection with youth, with music, with their energy, and also with so many artists. It’s such an amazing festival, I look forward to it actually. The project brings together artists from diverse musical backgrounds.
How was it collaborating with other artists from Royal Stag Boombox and how did these interactions influence your contributions?
I always look forward to collaborating with different artists, and be it in Bollywood, I have almost worked with everybody, and this time with Royal Stag Boombox, the opportunity was very exciting and it was to collaborate with a Hip-Hop artist, and last year I collaborated and did a song called Imtihaan with EPR and it was so amazing, we met together in the studio, we jammed, and we tried various combinations how to sing the song and he composed it, and I think that is an exciting part for any vocalist, to be able to try different genres of music and that’s exciting for me.
The interest in the Hip-Hop genre has grown immensely among Indian listeners in the last few years. Do you feel as a genre it has impacted Bollywood music as a whole? What are your thoughts?
Well, yes, Hip-Hop has really reached our country in even deeper level, I would say. It’s not only restrained in the metro cities. So, I think our youth relates to it and I think that’s what is exciting for people to hear. So, I really feel that a lot of Bollywood songs also are inspired and they are using that sound because it is the sound of youth and youth connects with it, and when people are grooving to that music, it’s really nice.
Royal Stag aims to bring unforgettable experiences to India’s youth. What message do you hope they take away from your performances and music?
I think it’s just about making every moment large, and that is what Royal Stag Boombox is
about and that is what the festival is about, that just makes everything so beautiful and
live in that moment and enjoy it. So, for me, when I am singing, I love it when the audience
is singing along with me and I feel their love and I want to give them a lot of love and music. So, it’s just that you never forget that, that is a memory that is forever etched, that is what I want to give to the audience tonight.
How did your experience as part of the pop group Aasma and winning Channel V’s
Popstars shape your career in the music industry?
It changed my life. I had never expected that a reality show will make a Delhi girl move to
Mumbai, and today when I look back, it’s almost, you know, like many years that I am singing now in films and that was my dream, to be able to do that, and I am able to do that and I really am grateful, I love it, and I am really grateful to Aasma.
You mentioned in an interview about how you wish to perform with A. R. Rahman and it
came true. Can you elaborate on that experience and how it impacted your career?
Since childhood, when I was in a boarding school, I always used to sneak my Walkman with a few batteries and few of his audio cassettes, and I always would listen to his music again and again and it would be on repeat because it was a very new sound and I really related with it, and I think youth connects with a newer sound. So, when I was in school, I really connected with A. R. Rahman sir’s music and even in Tamil music, and I do not speak the language. So, I think that really left a deep impression on me in terms of musicality, and I thought that if music is this, then I want to do music. So, I am really lucky that I auditioned to be part of his live concerts and I became a part of it and I sang some songs for him in the studio, and I recently performed with him at IPL opening ceremony as well in Chennai. So, every time I am around him, I feel like he is like a mentor, always guiding me and I just feel like I have grown a lot as a human being and as a musician under him.
Can you walk us through your experience working with music composers like Vishal-Shekhar, A. R. Rahman, Amit Trivedi on various Bollywood projects? How has each collaboration influenced your musical journey?
I feel every music composer that you have named just now, be it Vishal-Shekhar, A. R. Rahman sir, Amit Trivedi, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, all these composers, Mithoon, they all are an institute by themselves. When you go and record any song with them, there is so much to learn and explore, and you vibe with the song. Like my first song was Jiya Re, but Ishq Wala Love released before that, so both the songs, they as a vocalist made me sound very different, and they could imagine that this would sound nice in my voice and that
really excited me as a vocalist that, “Wow, I should try to sound different in every song,”
and I think be it melodies, like with Amit Trivedi, I loved doing the project Bombay Velvet. We explored Indian Jazz, and– yeah, I think with everyone I have really learned a lot and I really look forward to working with them again.
What challenges have you faced in the industry and how have you overcome them?
Every career has a challenge and somewhere you have to figure out how to maneuver or
how to just get better at your job. I feel like I focus on how can I be better than yesterday
and how can I stay excited about my music all the time. So, for me, that is exciting. But at
the same time, there are challenges where, you know, sometimes the songs have very few lines for a girl, so the challenge is to still sound good in this and still make a mark in that, sometimes that is a challenge.
From chartbusters like Ishq Wala Love to the Jazz tracks in Bombay Velvet, you have
shown versatility in different genres. How do you adapt your voice to suit the mood and
style of each song?
Well, I think listening is the key. You have to listen to the mood of the song, lyrics, and take
instructions from the music director, lyricist, director of the film, and then kind of experiment and figure out a correct tone with the film director, with the music director, and then that works and you just go ahead and do your thing on the mic.
Collaborating with different artists like Ayushmann Khurrana and Anirudh, how do you approach singing in languages or styles that might be new to you, like Punjabi or Tamil?
I feel music is beyond language and that’s what I learned when I was with A. R. Rahman sir, touring. I never had sung in Tamil, but I slowly pushed myself. I used to ratofy the lyrics and the meaning and the pronunciation and then try to incorporate that in a song. So, slowly I got a hang of it. Well, I am a Delhi girl, so Punjabi was not that tough for me, but yes, South languages do get a little challenging, but I think over the years you do get a hang of it, so it’s fine.
Your rendition of the song Tumhe Apna Banane Ka from Sadak in Hate Story 3 was praised for bringing out a different side of your voice. How do you explore and experiment with your vocal range in different projects?
As a vocalist, I always feel I should sound different in every song and that is what I try to do so that I blend into the genre of the music, I blend into the tune so much that it’s that song that is speaking and not really the artist. I think I surrender to the music composer. I say, “What do you want me to sound like?” If they say, “Oh, very sensual,” “Oh, very chirpy,” “Oh, very cute,” then I just focus on that direction and I do that.
You have been a mentor on several music reality shows. How do you approach guiding and nurturing young talent in the industry?
Reality shows are very important. I think that is how I started my career, and for me, to be able to see the new talent, the young singers, budding singers, take center stage and showcase their talent is very endearing, I love it, and I love the dreams they have about themselves, the parents have dreams of their children making a mark in the music industry. So, I really like that. I want to support them because somewhere somebody supported me and that’s how I made it here, and I still have a long way to go. But I feel like if somebody can give you a pat on the back at the very first step, which is when you need most courage because you are very scared, you feel you don’t know what’s going to happen, there is so much uncertainty, and parents are insecure about children, what will they do and how will this happen. So, I feel if you can encourage them and tell them, just focus on music and not the other things, I think if you can do that, half the battle is won. They can just be on the right path and learn more and be really amazing artists.
In your collaborations with composers like Amaal Mallik and Pritam, how do you interpret their vision for a song and bring your own creative flair to the performance?
Firstly, for me, to take instructions from the director is very important and lyricist and understand what the song is about. If the song is about celebration, then is it like a folk kind of celebration or is it in a very fun zone, is it a party song, is it a love song. So, I take instructions from them, and then once they have told me, this is how you interpret it, and then it’s easy for me to kind of add little things, and then if they approve of it, we keep it.
