Life’s a song for Shreya!

At 26, she’s already one of the leading playback singers of the country and her four national awards prove that there’s no fluke in it. In the city for her first public concert, Shreya Ghoshal talks about her journey from a Bengali girl-next-door to Bollywood’s music sensation.

The singer who catapulted into the limelight when she won the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contest naturally favours reality shows. “These shows are not just talent hunts. They are TV programmes too and hence are packaged with masala and emotional content. While the SMS system may not necessarily recognise the most talented participant, the exposure with millions watching one performing on TV for so long is always there. A lot of contestants are doing concerts, if not singing in films or recording for private albums. Success comes to everyone who makes it to these TV shows,” she says.

Shreya feels that she has a long way to go and a lot more to achieve. “National awards are the most prestigious awards for an Indian artiste and I never expected to get them as I never sang for awards. I want to create ground-breaking music. People should remember me for my work.”

Shreya goes on to inform that she is toying with the idea of coming out with a non-film private album. “Every playback singer should do non-film songs or an album. The problem is that unlike earlier, there are very few non-film music producers these days. I think one has to devise a creative way to promote non-film music.”

She has, in fact, a day dedicated to her in the US state of Ohio and that puts her right next to Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore. “It was a surprise to be bestowed with the honour of June 26 being declared as Shreya Ghoshal Day in Ohio,” she says.

The singer made her debut in Tollywood with Nuvvemmaya Chesavo in Okkadu and says she’s loves the city for various reasons. “I’ve done plenty of Telugu songs and loved working with composers like Devi Sri Prasad, Radha Krishna and others. I also hope to meet one of my favourite composers, M.M. Keeravani. I also feel that the Hyderabadi audience make artistes feel loved. Also, I love Hyderabadi biryani!”