Kanika Kapoor in Dubai: On new music and Covid controversy

Lucknow born and bred singer Kanika Kapoor has enjoyed a fruitful career in music since her debut as a singer with Jugni Ji in 2012. In 2014 she made an impressive debut in Bollywood with the catchy track Baby Doll for the film Ragini MMS 2, which went on to become a superhit and won her several awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer.

Kanika was most recently in the news back in March when she flew into Mumbai from London, after which she travelled to Lucknow. She tested positive for Covid on March 20, and went on to test positive another three times before finally testing negative on April 4. She faced a huge backlash and a lot of hate online for not self-isolating upon her return to Lucknow and attending social gatherings instead.

Six weeks ago the 42-year-old singer posted a picture of herself in a recording studio, promising fans new music soon. That day is finally here as her new single is due out in the next few days. Kanika dropped into the Khaleej Times office on Sunday to talk about new music, her love for Dubai and clear the air on the Covid controversy.

You have been associated with Dubai for a very long time. Could you run your fans through your actual connect with the city?

Every time I come to Dubai I say ‘can you please call me more often’ because I love this place; your skin feels better, you breathe better! It’s my kind of place. The first time I came to Dubai I think I was about 11 or 12 and I remember just one mall, BurJuman. It was most exciting to go to a mall to buy amazing candies. Dubai was my first ever international destination out of India. I had a fizzy drink for the first time. A small town Lucknow girl coming to Dubai... so yes, I have very fond memories.

My first ever Bollywood concert was also in the UAE, in Abu Dhabi; it was the IPL opening ceremony with Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone. I felt myself trembling on stage because it was my first time and straight with the best. I would love to live here one day, if given a chance.

How does it feel to be one of the most Googled personalities of India for 2020?

Whether it’s for the right reasons or the wrong reasons, I don’t know, but I am very grateful that people are interested in what I do. I don’t know how they take what I do, what they hear, we have no control over it. I was quite surprised myself at the news that I was one of the most Googled personalities in India, it’s a rather large country. I hope that I can give something back to my people.

Could you set the record straight on the controversy that erupted after you tested positive for Covid in March?

It was a huge controversy and I was taken aback; my family was taken aback. Yes there was hearsay and rumours and false accusations, which I think a lot of people believed. I live in London and I work around the world. I came on March 9 to India. There was no quarantine law. There were no checks at the airport. Holi was being celebrated on the 10th, so people were out and about. Our Dubai concert got cancelled that week. I went to visit my parents in Lucknow to have some family time for a week, and that’s when I contracted Covid.

Obviously If I know that I have Covid I’m not going to be with my parents and grandmother who are heart patients and have underlying issues. I just had little fever and I made the call myself to get tested. And on March 20, the result came and it was positive.

And it just went out of our hands! ‘Oh, she threw parties’; I didn’t throw any parties. I attended a family get together at my nani’s home. Another evening some of my father’s friends who were important cabinet ministers, had a school reunion. They then went to the Parliament. It just became a bigger deal and the Parliament was shut down. But the good thing is that nobody who came in contact with me including my family, contracted Covid, thankfully.

There was all hearsay about throwing parties, fleeing from the airport. I would always follow the rules because I’m a very by-the-book person. I live a very straightforward and simple life.

I was in hospital for 16 days. It was life-changing. Suddenly it seemed like the whole world was sending you messages of hatred. Of course it shook me up. My parents got calls. My children who live in London, got death threats through social media. They are young and they were shaken up by it.

Covid did really change my life. I take things in a different way and I take them very slowly and surely. I didn’t see my children for four months. But there’s a lot of good that I would talk about that I took out of the experience.

How have you been able to keep yourself positive in the midst of all that negativity?

If anything happens to me in my life, yes it does shake me up, a lot, and I think I am a trooper. I’m very lucky that I have a strong family background and they all sat me down and explained to me that everybody goes through ups and downs in their lives, and you really have to not take it personally and move on because you’re not the only one.

The whole world was in shock because people had lost jobs, people didn’t have money to eat and here I was sitting at home, I had nothing to complain about, because I had food on my table, I had parents who gave me love. I took a lot of positives out of it; it could have been worse.

I don’t shy away from talking about my problems because I think it should be relatable. We all go through something or the other, personally, professionally, medically. At the end my takeaway from the whole thing was that I really should do anything I can in my life to help and be there for people who need me. We should support each other instead of bringing each other down because we’re all in it together.

One of the biggest highs in your life was when your first Bollywood track Baby Doll became a huge hit. How do you feel about the way your career has shaped up since then?

I’ve seen a lot. I had a very troubled personal life, I married very young, at 18. I was a young mother of three kids before 25. A little bit of ups and downs and then I decided to go single and that’s where the difficult part starts. Being from a family where I had a very sheltered childhood to being that girl coming out alone to the world is very difficult to handle. And I’m sure a lot of girls put up with things because it is very difficult to be on the other side. And yes, Baby Doll happened with me, I was very lucky; there’s a whole story behind it.

I grew up in Lucknow and studied music for 12 years. I did my Masters. Then I didn’t do it (music) for a long time, while I was married. I went back into the studio when I needed to. I needed a job. And yes, I was very lucky that the first song that I ever got became one of the biggest superhits of Bollywood and because of that I got a lot more work. I didn’t know how to perform on stage when I performed in Abu Dhabi (2014). That was my first live concert ever.

And I remember that moment, feeling very blessed and having goosebumps. Then I had to go back home and I had to learn. I had to write down and learn how to perform, how to sing better, how to entertain people. Because it’s a different ballgame, one day being a housewife and a mother of three to life turning around and being on stage with Shah Rukh Khan and in front of an international audience, performing and entertaining them...

So yes, I’ve come a long way from that. I feel very proud because I can entertain thousands of people and really enjoy it. I have a lot of amazing music that came out in the last couple of years. And I am very excited about a lot of my music that’s coming out.

Tell us about your new single Jugni 2.0 that’s coming out soon.

I have a lot of music ready for the next few months, from Bollywood playback to independent singles to Arabic collaborations, which I think the Emiratis will love!

My single that is coming out in the next few days is Jugni 2.0. It’s a rebirth of Kanika Kapoor; it takes a lot to say that. Because Jugni was the first song I ever recreated; in 2012 while I was sitting at home, I just put it out on YouTube as a free download. I never released the song or did anything to promote it. It was just a passion project. And I was picked up in Bollywood because of that song. So today I thought, 8 years later, a lot of people who have not heard it, a whole generation has not heard it. My children have not heard it. So we made a whole youth oriented dance version with talented UK producer Mumzy Stranger and DJ Lyan. It’s very close to my heart.

The message is something that I resonate with. You fall, you cry, you hurt and in the end it’s only God that comes to rescue you. And on that note you should give yourself to God. So this whole year I resonate with that the most. I thought before I take out any other music this is the song I want to take out.

If you had to look back at 2020, what’s the one blessing you would take away?

I got a lot of very precious time with my grandmother who is 92. And, maybe after 20 years, I spent so much time with my parents. I was living with them day and night and my children, I have not been able to see them much in the last five years. It’s always in and out as I’m a full-time working mother. I work and live between three places — London, Lucknow and Mumbai. So it’s been a very hard year but I feel blessed. I overcame Covid, I came out stronger.