Neeti Mohan — of the “Ishq Wala Love” fame — is a well-known Indian playback singer. Having sung a number of hits like “Jiya Re” from Jab Tak Hai Jaan, “Saadi Galli Aaja” for Nautanki Saala opposite Ayushman Khurana and many more, Mohan is now one of the most sought-after singers in Bollywood today.
Known for her successful stints in reality shows, she was one of the winners of the popular show Popstars and she went on to become a member of the Indian pop group Aasma. She was also on the Star Plus show Music Ka Maha Muqabla, where she was part of the winning team Shankar’s Rockstars, led by Shankar Mahadevan.
Reality shows have really shaped Mohan’s career. “Well, I would say that I don’t come from a family of artists or celebrities. So, I think I am one of those who made her career only by reality shows. Then I got the right opportunity to sing in films and now I am judging a reality show so I think it has been a wonderful journey and I am very grateful that I could take part in reality shows, I was selected and then able to do what I wanted to,” she tells Guardian 20.
Mohan’s debut in Bollywood came as a surprise when she got a sudden phone call from a famous music Composer Vishal Dadlani for “Ishq Wala Love” song from the film Student of the Year. She says, “Vishal Dadlani had called me once and said that he would like to try my voice for one of his songs. I was selected for that song and we did many songs together after that.”
The singer started her career with a reality show and is now judging the show called The Voice Kids that also features singers like Shaan and Shekhar Rajivani. Mohan says sharing a judging space with Shaan and Shekhar is an overwhelming experience. “Both of them are extremely adorable and I admire them a lot as an artist and it’s fun to be with them and I had a great time doing The Voice Kids together. Even in the future we would love to do something together because we really gel along well,” she says.
But judging kids on the show is not easy. She says, “With kids, you have to be very sensitive. Also, whatever you say, they relate with whatever you try to do. Here on The Voice Kids, we are not only judges, we are also coaching them and our job is to basically train them and guide them on the show.”
Mohan’s other two siblings Neeti Mohan and Mukti Mohan are acclaimed dancers in Bollywood. Being the eldest of all, Mohan sisters are known for their inherent talent in Bollywood fraternity. “It is very overwhelming and recently Ranbir Kapoor came to The Voice Kids and asked ‘What do you guys eat? I want your DNA, how you all can be so talented?’ I think when a artist like Ranbir, Anushka Sharma or whoever I meet, when they praise us I feel very grateful to them and I feel grateful to my parents and that really encourages us to work harder,” she says.
“With kids, you have to be very sensitive. Also, whatever you say, they relate with whatever you try to do. Here on The Voice Kids, we are not only judges, we are also coaching them and our job is to basically train them and guide them on the show.”
Also, known for her fashion statements, the singer seems quite the favourite among fashion designers. But for her, comfort is the only fashion statement. She says, “Well, I don’t know whether I am known for my fashion sense but I dress up for occasions. I really believe in comfort and feeling comfortable in whatever you are wearing is my style secret.”
Meanwhile, Mohan is also releasing a lot of singles with T series currently. “Well, I feel as much as film songs are important independent music are equally important for me and I had started my career with independent music and even now as much as I love film songs, I also like doing collaborating with artists so, I would like to do more often,” she says.
She also believes that independent albums are helping the singers to grow now. She says, “Now because of the internet, Youtube and Facebook, there is a huge platform to share independent music or albums be it whether you are a singer or a dancer. You could see many cover artists have made their names just making songs on YouTube. I think it’s great as everybody is getting the chance to do their music because there was a time when we could not think of doing it and now you can do it right from your childhood.”
Having a lot of live concerts in her pipeline, Mohan will be doing a lot of live concerts and will be performing with A.R. Rahman and with Amit Trivedi with lots of other concerts coming up.
Mohan who regularly performs live with A.R. Rahman says that sharing stage with him is like a dream come true. “I respect him a lot and I really admire him as a person. He really inspires me. So, each time I am with him on stage or in a recording studio, I thank my stars that I am standing next to him and I really learn a lot from him,” she concludes.