Singer Shahid Mallya cries foul over artistes hogging the limelight by recreating original tracks
Shahid Mallya
Singer Shahid Mallya does not believe in signing on every song that comes his way. Instead, he is happy to cherry-pick the ones that challenge the artiste in him. It's no wonder then that after spending six years in Bollywood, Mallya has limited songs in his discography - the most recent being the chartbuster, Radha from Jab Harry Met Sejal. He attributes his limited work to his need to remain versatile. "The industry tends to bracket singers soon. If you've sung a Punjabi hit, you will be boxed in that genre. The industry is yet to learn how to explore the versatility of a singer," he says.
Shahid Mallya
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Besides the industry's tendency to pigeon-hole artistes, Mallya also has a grouse against the practice of creating reprised versions of popular songs. He argues that such versions often take the limelight away from the original track and singer. Mallya shares the example of his song Ikk Kudi (Udta Punjab; 2016), which was then revisited by Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh. Both the songs found a place in the album. "When a song has another version, people tend to confuse it with the original. The recognition that I received from Radha was immense. On the other hand, I feel someone else stole the limelight for my songs in Udta Punjab."
Not one to be disillusioned by these hiccups on the road to success, Mallya, who is currently working on projects with Amit Trivedi and Pritam, asserts that talent always finds takers. "I know many who keep chasing people in Bollywood for work; such people often suffer disappointment. If you're talented, those who understand music will approach you no matter what."
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