'There was this music director who approached me for a song. He called me to his house for practice.'
'I took my mother with me and I felt he did not like that.'
'It took me a while to gauge his intentions.'
'That really scarred me.'
Seepi Jha is making waves with her latest single, Sabki Baaratein Aayi 2, featuring Zaara Yesmin and Parth Samthaan.
Though she is glad to be the voice behind the recreated song, she wishes to sing more original songs in future.
"Be it a big city or a small town, human beings are bound to make fun. But when you make it big, the same people will applaud you. That happened to me too. Initially, people made fun of me, but slowly, they started accepting me," Seepi tells Rediff.com Contributor Mohnish Singh.
What kind of response have you been receiving for your single, Sabki Baaratein Aayi 2?
The response has been great.
People have loved the video as well as the audio. Let's see where it goes because every song is born with a destiny.
The previous version of the song was a mega hit. I wish listeners shower the same love on this song as well.
How did you bag it?
The actress of this song, Zaara Yesmin, got the rights.
The task for us was to create something fresh out of it because the original song was already known to everyone.
So we were in a fix about whether to sing and shoot the song or not. It took a little time to convince ourselves that okay, let's just do it.
But we made sure that it appeared new.
We did not mess with the original song.
Tips (the record label) had made things clear right from the start that we definitely would do a sequel in the near future.
So when the response for the first song was stupendous, we went ahead with our plans.
Watch Seepi sing Sabki Baaratein Aayi 2, live and unplugged!
Tell us about your background.
I belong to Shahdol in Madhya Pradeh.
I dreamt of joining the music industry from a very young age.
Yes, there was hard work and a lot of struggle, but things started looking up and the right people started connecting. In 2019, my first song Jutti was released and it fetched millions of views.
Luckily, it featured Zaara Yesmin.
I collaborated with Zaara for four of my songs, so all this started with her.
Does anyone from your family belong to the music industry?
No, but my husband, Raj Ashu, is a music director.
He was the first one to enter the industry and when he established himself, I came to Mumbai.
Honestly, I did not have to struggle much as he had already struggled on my behalf.
How did your parents react to you pursuing a non-traditional career?
Shahdol is a really small place. My parents did not know anything about the film industry.
I am very thankful to my mother because she knew maybe I would make something out of my music career. So she guided me and wanted me to learn classical music.
I would like to say one thing about human beings: Be it a big city or a small town, human beings are bound to make fun. But when you make it big, the same people will applaud you and some of them will even start following your path.
That happened to me too. Initially, people made fun of me, but slowly, they started accepting me.
Then finally I got appreciation from the same people who made fun of me.
There has been an influx of remixes and recreations over the past few years. Does not it show the lack of originality among creators?
I believe that listeners don't dive deep into that. For them, a good song or a good video is all that matters.
But the reality is different. We are just told that we have to do this and when it is told by like, a label, then we cannot reject it nor have an option.
When you know you cannot do justice to the original song, why do you want to do it?
I am a '90s kid and we live under that fear that we should not mess with the original song.
So when we recreate, we make sure we don't tamper with the originality of the song.
We can also say that it is called a remake.
Who were your singing idols?
I started my musical journey by listening to Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.
Shreya Ghoshal was my guru although we are of the same age.
I am happy that I got to meet Shreya. She is such a down-to-earth celebrity.
Reality shows churn out new singers but somewhere down the line, they lose themselves. Do you feel talents from the reality shows make their mark?
Somewhere, destiny plays a very important role. Everyone is destined a particular journey.
If a singer becomes a household name, after sometime, they experience a certain kind of downfall too.
Even before they reach a position, newcomers take their place.
The main problem with reality shows is that every year, there is a new winner. So the former singers get sidelined and their place is taken over by the new singers.
Any bitter experiences?
Yes, there is one that really scarred me.
There was this music director who approached me for a song. He called me to his house for practice.
I took my mother with me and somehow, I felt he did not like that.
Anyway, we went ahead with the practice.
When I went to the recording studio and started recording the song, he kept saying, 'Maza nahi aa raha.'
I was confused, but kept trying.
He did not approve the song.
It took me a while to gauge his intentions.
As soon as I left the premises, I broke down. That was a big learning for me.
What's next?
I am singing for a film, but I cannot talk much about it now. The song will be out in a couple of months.
