Sona Mohapatra pays ode to Meera Bai's 'original rebel'

Sona Mohapatra has donned the Lal Pari Mastani avatar in her new song PicShyam PiyaSinger Sona Mohapatra is dressed in red when she meets us on a weekday afternoon at her Santacruz home The colour is now part of Mohapatras new identity and what she describes as her alter ego Lal Pari Mastani I wanted to express myself in ways beyond a singer I wanted to connect the dots at the heart is music but then there is film art fashion history travel and social commentary So I decided to have a brand new avatar for myself in terms of artistic expression And thats where this thought of launching an alter ego came fromLal Pari Mastani she says is a moniker her fans have always known her by Its my fascination for the colour red and all it stands for energy power menstrual flow the idea of being the only one who gives birth You know womanhood she explainsThe story behind the moniker is one Mohapatra stumbled upon during her travels I heard a story of a woman who lived in the northwest frontier of Afghanistan which was getting Talibanised All the women here dressed in black and the area was devoid of film or music But there was this lone woman who wore only red and sang and danced on the streets and lived in the dargah That visual of all black and that rebel in red stuck with meIn recent years Mohapatra has come out as a rebel in many ways using her social media presence to call out injustices that she sees right from women not getting the respect they deserve to the plight of women artistes in India Lal Pari Mastani is now also her new project the first song Shyam Piya released exclusively on Apple Music recently Produced by husband and longtime work collaborator Ram Sampath the song features artistes like Talvin Singh The video the countrys first 360degree video shows Mohapatra walking around Vrindavan the home of Krishnalover Meera who is also a personal inspiration for the singerMeera has fascinated me for decades We put her in a white robe and made her safe as a bhakt a domesticated calm soul But the Meera from Mewar that I know decided to sing and dance on the streets and express herself which is a problem for women even today Her poetry is subversive and she was a rebel questioning issues like Sati She was called a nautch girl If I was not married I would be branded a har as well She also has this deep sensuality which she expressed all the timeWhen we bring up Kiran Nagarkars Cuckold which Mohapatra has devoured from front to back and how Meera orgasms over Krishna Mohapatra squeals If you hear Shyam Piya you will know that I am orgasming through it too Its such a primal feeling those words by Meera and Rams melody It does something to me and everyone who hears it That side of Meera is never shown and we wanted to show that We shot it at a haveli in Vrindavan where Meera stayed Its all about painting myself in Krishnas colours I am red he is blue and we smash into each otherThe project comprises nine songs videos of which will release every month Sampath who has composed all the original music for it says that the songs are about how music connects the feminine in us all Sampath sees Meera as relevant even today I wanted us to look at Meerabais words with fresh perspective Shes an immortal songstress and poet but her words arent superficial and theyre more relevant than ever I wanted to reframe those words in the musical idiom of our times And so we ended up calling it Meera Blues because she has the honesty of a Blues musicianWhen asked about collaborating with his wife he breaks it down simply Its simple Im the boss in the studio shes the boss on stage Of course its never that cut and dry besides theres no room for inflated egos in a collaboration Sona enjoys a specific kind of music so its always a pleasure composing songs for her Also we enjoy each others company so that helpsMohapatra on her part is hell bent on going out and doing whatever she can to express all her sides all the while being honest to her core strengths and beliefs I can do songs like Jeeya Lage Na Talaash and Ambar Sariya Fukrey and still remain true to me I never want to be just pretty or famous I want to put out music independently in different ways and never make it small and niche but larger than life As an artiste thats what you have to do keep finding ways to reach outAlso read Kangana Ranauts sister Rangoli slams Sona Mohapatra for her open letterCatch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates