Of rhapsodies and raagas

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Bhavya Pandit’s career as a singer was perhaps foreseeable. A child prodigy who knew her raagas the way other children know the names of movies or the latest in fashion fads, she won the Balshree Presidential award at the age of 16. Now 21, she is a reality show star, having reached the finals of Indian Idol Season 4. She performs all over the country and is also part of a popular all-girl band. Rising playback singer, YouTube phenomenon and a successful, independent singer-songwriter, Bhavya Pandit seems to have done it all. What’s in store then for the gifted performer? DC finds out.

Early roots:
I have to thank Ustad Bismillah Khan who spotted my talent as a kid and urged my parents to support me. Coming from a person of his calibre, my family realised that I had what it took. Being presented with the Balshree from Dr. Kalam ranks as one of my life’s most memorable moments. The intense competition to win that honour itself was a real learning curve for me.

Idol’s impact:
I was 16 when I was on Idol. It was smooth sailing throughout the auditions and initial rounds, but later on, I, the naive teenager, learnt some important life lessons. The judges mentored us a lot, especially Anu Malik with whom I share my birthday — we even celebrated it on the show. Idol got me recognition, endeared me to audiences, and more importantly, made a performer out of me.

Performance circuit:
Since that success, I’ve had to work a lot on my live acts, learning to apply make-up, having a positive energy on stage, getting the crowd going — it’s all part of the show. But I honestly love doing what I do. It wouldn’t work if it was a facade. Recently, I teamed up with my fellow Idol contestants, Priyanka and Ankita, to form Sensation, an all-girl Bollywood band. We do get stereotyped sometimes as eye candy and nothing more, but proving people wrong is the challenge. Ideally, we’d like to release our own record soon.

Bollywood dreams:
Singing alongside the likes of A.R. Rahman, Himesh Reshammiya and so on were such adrenaline rushes. I was bowled over by Rahman’s professionalism and the sheer magnitude of the opportunity. Also, since I took to playback, singing your own song to the crowd is such an amazing feeling. But my goal is to make it as an independent artist, and produce a semi-classical album soon.

Her Pani Da cover:
It’s crossed a million hits — if you can believe it. We really had no idea it was going to be this popular when we made it. There’s always a risk of running into a lot of negative comments when a song goes viral, but thankfully, the appreciation has been terrific indeed. I can’t ask for anything more!