Singer Monali Thakur is no longer an anjaani. Her chart-topping 'Zara Zara Touch Me' from Race and the latest peppy 'Anjaana Anjaani' has made sure of that. An ex-Indian Idol contestant, Monali is a prime example of how elimination from a reality show is not the end of the world. This 25-year-old talks to CS about her first taste of success and the contests that really count: <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2010/sep/Monali.jpg" border="5" /> PIC/ RANE ASHISH Reality check My dad, Shakti Thakur was a singer and actor for Bengali films. He also worked a bit with composers like RD Burman and Laxmikant Pyarelal but he was based in West Bengal. So, when I decided to get into playback singing, entering a musical reality show seemed like a good platform. Though I made it into the top ten finalists, I was ousted quite early. I was disappointed, but I wasn't heartbroken as I am not very competitive by nature (laughs). And it gave me the scope to struggle. Thereafter, I started doing shows across Mumbai and India. The money helped me survive in Mumbai. I spent the rest of the time looking for playback opportunities. A dream fulfilled This is my first song with Vishal- Shekhar. In fact, when I met Vishal (Dadlani) for the first time, I told him that he has to listen to my voice someday (laughs). So, one day he called me to his studio, where I sang Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love for him. I was thrilled, when he said, "You made my day." However, it took quite a while before the Anjaana Anjaani title song happened. They had almost finished working on this film, but there was this last minute addition of a club number. That's when I got a call to sing this track.u00a0 Mentor magic During the course of a reality show, many composers promise to give you work but chances don't come that easily. Moreover, though I am a classical singer I didn't have any training in playback singing. Whatever I have learnt is by observing other singers in recording studios. I remember Anu Malik promising me a song on the show. It was very sweet of him when he asked me to sing a few lines for the film Jaan-E-Mann. Gulzarsaab was also present during the recording. On hearing me, he nodded his head in approval. That single nod meant the world to me. Pritam is another person whom I look upto. I recorded a jingle with him, and then he gave me the chance to sing for Race. I used to spend hours at his studio learning about recording. All in the family My grandfather Bhaktiranjan Ray was a classical singer. I got my early training from my dad and guru, Pandit Jagdish Prasad. My elder sister Mehuli is also a playback singer. My favourite singersu00a0 are Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsale, Ustad Rashid Khan, Richa Sharma, Sukhwinder Singh, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and many more.

Singer Monali Thakur is no longer an anjaani.

Monali gets into the groove

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Monali gets into the groove

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