Vasundhara Mantri has always been passionate about her music and no adda with the genial jewellery designer is complete with a reference to songs and lyrics. So, when the invitation to her first solo gig landed up in our WhatsApp, we were as excited as Vasu, as she is lovingly called by her friends. Post her performance at The Salt House on September 10, The Telegraph caught up with her for a chat.
Congratulations on your debut gig! How did it go?
Thank you! This was my first gig and I was really nervous as well as very excited to put it all together. I feel it was more like the journey to reach this point (which was special) because I have been putting in a lot of effort for the last two years in getting better trained. I feel just to be able to put the show together was a feeling of a lot of satisfaction because this has been my deepest passion since I was a child and I was so happy that I could finally put it together and present it. So, it was definitely a very satisfying and an exciting feeling.
How did you prepare?
The preparation for this particular gig took me a month and a half, basically to put it together, making a full list of songs which actually could create a vibe and a feel and which go together, which I am confident of singing. Starting from there to get tracks prepared because I didn’t use live musicians and perfecting each song and track.... The few other things that I did to prep were my classical riyaz, which I have left for years. I went an extra mile because the base needs to be strong. Also, the interesting part was I did all the technicals myself, which was challenging for me... I also coordinated with the sound vendor to put it all together. All in all, it was a full, wholesome experience to prepare towards it and showcase these in such a manner. My teacher Navin Daga helped me. He is part of the band called Dhwani. He is mentoring me and guiding me to do better.
Despite the prep, you must have had butterflies in your stomach?
You will find it a little funny to hear this, but as I was prepping, there were a few days that I felt a little nervous or jittery thinking ‘oh my god, why did I take this up or why am I doing this?!’ On the day of the gig, however, I was really excited and towards the evening, I was waiting for the time to come. Nervousness went down. Also, maybe I realised that basically this is something I have always wanted to do forever. Overall, I was calm and relaxed and excited towards the end.
Tell us about your songlist.
I would call them soulful melodies. They were mostly romantic songs, mix of new and old Bollywood, a lot of evergreen classics, some offbeat ones like ... it is also challenging to sing. There were a few medleys that I combined like A Thousand Years with Tum se milke aisa laga and a couple of bar sort of songs like Babuji dheere chalna with Aao huzur tumko. I also did some of my bar favourites like Kaisi paheli zindagani. I did a few old English songs like Killing Me Softly. Towards the end, it was all Hindi retro numbers like Gulabi aankhen, Shola jo bhadke, Gore gore banke chhore. All in all, the idea was to keep it groovy and keep the audience engaged.
Are we finally seeing more of Vasundhara the singer?
That’s a question that I am also thinking about. I definitely want to do more of these kinds of gigs and feel this is really my calling. I have always wanted to do something with music and I know this is the start of something bigger. How I navigate my way through, I still need to carve my path towards it. I am sure you are still going to see more of me. The structure still needs to be planned.
What are you currently listening to?
I have varied interests. I listen to a lot of Coke Studio, which actually inspires me to do a lot of different songs... which have a folk touch and a contemporary feel and how they put songs together also interests me. I also listen to a bit of classical music since I am quite inclined towards it. Of course, Bollywood is something which is always find exciting. The song that is trending Manike mage hithe... everyone is grooving to it.