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Why Bollywood singer Tulsi Kumar's song from Saaho is making waves

Enni Soni happens to be Shraddha Kapoor's favourite song from her upcoming film with Prabhas

Bollywood singing sensation Tulsi Kumar, who sang Enni Soni from the upcoming Prabhas-Shraddha Kapoor movie Saaho, is confident fans will love to see the song on the big screen. "It's (Enni Soni) a visual treat. People will enjoy this beautiful track and both Prabhas and Shraddha have taken the song to a different level," said Tulsi, who visited Dubai to perform private gigs on August 8 and 9.
Enni Soni also happens to be Shraddha's favourite song from Saaho, said Tulsi while chatting to City Times. The track dropped on the Internet recently and has received rave reviews. It has already crossed over 50 million views and counting.

"Enni Soni is a future pop genre song that I did with Guru Randhawa. It was a great learning experience for me as I sang the track in Telugu too, besides Hindi. I loved being part of Saaho," said Tulsi, who is the daughter of the late T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar, and sister of eminent fashion designer Khushali Kumar.

Attempting to sing in a new language was not easy for Tulsi, she admits it needed some training. "I had a diction expert to guide and correct me while singing Enni Soni in Telugu. I used to write the lyrics in Hindi to get an understanding of the lyrics. After that, I would work on the pronunciation and diction. By doing this, I was able to memorise the words. That's how I perfected the track (in Telugu)," she explained, while singing a few lines of the track in Telugu for us.

Talking about how her other hits like Tera Ban Jaunga from Kabir Singh and Shehar Ki Ladki from Khandaani Shafakhana became two of the most watched songs on YouTube, Tulsi pointed out that anything that's done with passion and dedication is bound to bear good results. "Both songs are different in genre and singing space. Tera Ban Jaunga is a soulful number that resonated well with listeners and got lots of love from them. I sung it with a lot of feeling and gave it my heart. Initially, when I heard the scratch of the song, I said 'wow, what a beautiful song, what beautiful lyrics'. Once I recorded the melody, it stayed in my memory and I kept on humming the song. I was confident that listeners too would connect to the song. The song crossed 130 million views on YouTube.

"The other song, Shehar Ki Ladki, is my first track with Badshah. The song has a '90s feel and vibe. It has a wonderful blend of old and new parts. I'm glad both songs resonated with music lovers all over the world."

The debate over O Saki Saki song
One of Tulsi's new songs, O Saki Saki from the upcoming John Abraham starrer Batla House, has come under severe criticism and has sparked a debate on social media. But Tulsi, who sung the track with Neha Kakkar, clarifies that everyone's listening tastes are different. The original song featured Koena Mitra in the 2004 movie Musafir.

"It's not right for people to compare the song. Music is very subjective. Iconic songs are very close to people and some of them may not necessarily like the variation. However, when recreating songs we have to handle it with care and it has to be done tastefully. I believe O Saki Saki is a grand track and Nora (Fatehi) has set the screen on fire in this number (with her amazing belly dance moves)."

Talking further about the fresh take on O Saki Saki, Tulsi said she has given the track a different feel. "You'll hear power-packed, grunge style vocals which is a completely new side to me. I'm getting loads of positive response to the song. I sang it in Dubai recently and the crowd loved it."

It takes a lot of hard work to find success in the industry, says Tulsi. "In any field, it's all about passion, dedication and toil. You have to keep on challenging yourself and aim to become a better artiste. Music is a vast field you can never say you've accomplished every-thing. I still consider myself a student. Every time you do something new, you discover new facets to your talent. Accomplishment is a constant and ongoing process for me."

If not blessed with a good voice what would Tulsi do? "I would be doing something in our (music) company, handling some department. But it has to have something to do with music."

Tulsi's choice of music is eclectic. Whenever she's not busy in the studios or working on a new song she listens to a variety of music. "On my playlist you'll find tracks like Seven Rings by Ariana Grande, Adele's Hello and tracks from my movie Kabir Singh. But Lata Mangeshkar's songs are my favourite, so are Sonu Nigam's songs from Agneepath."
michael@khaleejtimes.com