Singer Jyotsna Navandar is one of few reality show contestants who is making her presence felt in the independent music scene and Hindi film industry as well. The Indian Idol fame singer, who has worked on films like Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Sultan, recently launched her single Million Billion. The song, which has Punjabi vibes and is a great party number, has been composed by Troy-Arif.
Jyotsna is happy that singers are not only getting to experiment while working independently but also trying different styles and genres of music in Bollywood. “Bollywood has also become very experimental. People are accepting different styles of songs, texture of voice and singers. In fact, the two (independent music and mainstream Bollywood music) have become one. People are into new ideas, which is great,” she says.
The reason, the change has come is because of the growing demand for independent music and they are easily available for the listeners. Jyostna believes this could be one of the reasons, why the change has happened. “It’s a culmination of a lot of things. Music composers are also experimenting with their music, styles and songs,” she adds.
The Pune girl also made her debut in Marathi cinema. The singer sang a duet with Mika Singh in the Ye Re Ye Re Paisa 2 and the song has got a tremendous response. The singer says it was exciting singing with the Aaj Ki Party singer.
The song was penned by Kshitij Patwardhan and the music composed by Troy-Arif. “Troy and Arif called me to sing the song, but at that time, they did not know who would sing the male part. When I got to know Mika Singh would be a part of the song, I was super excited,” she says, adding that though they separately recorded the song she learnt later that Mika liked her voice. “He wanted to know who had sung the female version,” says Jyotsna.
The singer says that the experience of working in the Marathi film industry was the same as Bollywood except for the language. “Troy and Arif have also worked in Hindi films and their style of working is similar,” says the singer who is working on a couple of other Marathi tracks.
Jyostna has done more than 2,000 stage performances and she says that it helps build confidence. “I was very shy as a child but now the performances have brought about a change in my personality. In addition to that, stage shows give a different high and happiness. It’s refreshing, gives you a break from your routine,” she says.
Jyostna, who has toured with music composer and singer AR Rahman for his world tours, feels that collaborating with him is one of the biggest achievements of her career. “Working with him has been a great learning experience. Even when he is rehearsing, you get to learn so much from him,” she says before signing off.