Sakshi Chopra on stepping away from family legacy and finding her voice in music: 'I needed to do that'

Sakshi Chopra. Pics/By Special Arrangement

Sakshi Chopra has grown up around Hindi films, but her ambitions have taken her far away from them. The singer-songwriter, great-granddaughter of director Ramanand Sagar of Ramayan fame, is carving out her own space in pop music in Los Angeles. For Chopra, however, music was never a calculated departure from the family legacy. "I started singing when I was young and writing songs at 11 years old. Music was always there," she began.

Establishing herself in LA was important to Chopra to create her identity. She reasoned, "Building from the ground up was the harder route, but I needed to do that, to know that whatever I built was earned and completely mine."

Ramanand Sagar (R) with his son

That instinct for carving out her own identity extends to her latest track, Indian Princess, which challenges the traditional idea associated with its title. Chopra wanted to present a princess who does not conform. "There has always been the expectation that an Indian princess should dress and behave a certain way, and fit into a traditional image. My song is about taking that traditional image and redefining what it can look like today."

Having begun her music career in 2024 with Ghosts, Chopra has performed at several venues. These performances have also shaped her as an artiste. "You can make everything perfect in a studio, but when you're on stage, there's nowhere to hide," she smiled.

The Sagar family

Sakshi Chopra is the great-granddaughter of filmmaker Ramanand Sagar, creator of the iconic television series, ‘Ramayan', and daughter of producer Meenakshi Sagar