On a musical high

A few months ago when singer Divya Kumar stepped into the studio to record Jee Karda a heartrending song about a manrsquos quest for revenge and how it consumes his passion for life he was a nervous wreck After all the medium paced intense composition from the upcoming Varun Dhawanstarrer Badlapur was nothing like the upbeat numbers read Aafaton ke Parinde from Ishaqzaade and Hawan Karenge from Bhaag Milkha Bhaag that hes sung earlierSinger Divya Kumar above hopes to sing for Shah Rukh Khan somedayKumar gave it his best shot and the result is for everyone to see The song has been going strong on various music charts ever since it hit air waves last month and the young artiste has been flooded with congratulatory calls and messages from well wishers and fans alike some even comparing his voice to Sukhwinder Singh and Kailash Kher ldquoItrsquos a great compliment to be compared to these singers but I need to create my own identityrdquo says the modest Mumbai ladAn early start He confesses music has always been an integral part of his life ldquoMy grandfather Pandit Shivram was a music composer and singer who has worked extensively with acclaimed filmmaker V Shantaram My father Bhagwan Shivram too was a recording artiste for almost 40 years So music has always been a part of our lives Every kid in my extended family can either sing or has interest in musicrdquo informs the 28yearold Kumarrsquos journey began at the age of six when he started singing for stage shows ldquoAt one such show Ramesh son of Kalyanji uncle of KalyanjiAnandji fame heard me and I met the legendary composers I joined their Little Wonders group and performed at stage shows and went on world tours till the age of 16rdquo he reveals Threeandahalf years ago the artiste met music composers SachinJigar through common friend Priya who is a lyricist and Jigars wife and since then has been working with them as an assistant music programmer But his entry into playback singing happened when composer Gulraj Singh asked him to sing a song called Alakh Niranjan for the 2012 movie Tuteya Dil Though both the film and the song went unnoticed by the audience music composer Amit Trivedi was impressed by Kumar and approached him to lend his voice for the energetic Aafaton ke Parinde for Ishaqzaade More songs with Trivedi including Shubhaarambh for Kai Po Che and Allah Meherbaan for Ghanchakkar followedBut it was with Shankar Ehsaan Loys Hawan Karenge for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag that Kumar consolidated his position as one of the most promising singers to look out for ldquoI was nervous because I had a cold on the day of the recording and it was a highpitched song Shankar Mahadevan immediately put me at ease saying that I have to sing the composition in a complete masti fun mode The trio boosted my confidence so much that I just had to deliverrdquo he recalls With Sachin Jigar Kumarrsquos equation goes beyond professional ldquoThey are like my brothersrdquo says the singer He has sung for them songs such as Chanchal Mann Shuddh Desi Romance Shake Your Bootiya Finding Fanny and more recently Jee KardaEndless possibilities With his slightly rustic earthy voice Kumar might have been at a disadvantage a couple of years ago But with the audience opening up to new voices and genres the singer feels itrsquos a good time to be in the music industry ldquoIrsquom sure every singer feels his or her voice is limited to certain genres Being typecast might not necessarily be a bad thingIf youre good at a certain genre you will get those types of songs But once in a while we need to get out of our comfort zones and experiment The most important thing to bear in mind is that the audience should never get bored of yourdquo he explains Kumar admits there are more surprises from him in store this year but refuses to divulge anything further He however admits that he nurtures a desire to sing for super star Shah Rukh Khan ldquoThat has been on my wishlist since the day I started singingrdquo he smiles With the way his musical journey is progressing we wouldnrsquot be surprised if the universe conspires to fulfill this wish as well