Priyanka Mukherjee
Playback Singer and Performer, Mumbai
What inspired you to become a playback singer, and who are your biggest influences?
Music has always been a part of my life since childhood.
I have been learning music since the time I was barely 4years old..That time ofcourse I didn’t think that I would take this up professionally.
As I started growing music was not just a form of entertainment for me it became a way of life and after completing my engineering I knew that this is the only thing that I can do 24X7 and that nothing else in life gives me more happiness than singing.
Starting with the people who have influenced me ofcourse my mother who has been my first teacher in music my father who is always always supportive my guru ji pandit ajoy Chakraborty then ofcourse the legends lata ji asha ji kishore kumar ji rafi sahab the list goes on.
You have worked with top music labels like T-Series and Tips. Can you share your experience working with these industry giants?
It has been an absolute pleasure to work these big banner companies..when I entered their office and saw the pictures of legendary singers and musicians displayed across the studio it was a dream come true to be able to record my own songs and get it released from their company and today I m working regularly with them.
You are an All India Radio artist and have performed at international events in London, Africa, Korea, and more. How do you adapt your performances for diverse global audiences?
All India Radio is a completed different experience because there you don’t have audience in front of you everything is happening in the studios and it gets broadcasted.
I have worked with many celebrities in kolkata when I was a child artist in all india radio and it was one of the finest experiences. Foreign tours are always very very exciting. Out of all the foreign tours I have done the most memorable one would be the show that I did in south korea. There was a handful of Indians in the audience rest all were foreigners like Germans Italians Koreans Chinese etc. We all were skeptical about which song to sing but to our surprise our show went on till 4hrs non stop and people danced like mad they enjoyed bollywood songs a lot.That was a very very memorable experience.
You regularly perform with Himesh Reshammiya and Ankit Tiwari. What’s it like collaborating with these talented artists?
Again these are lifetime experiences as I get to learn from these big celebrities as to how to pull the crowd and how to constantly live up to the audience expectations.
Your language skills are impressive! How do you manage to sing in multiple languages like Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Marwadi, Punjabi, and English?
From a very young age I could sing in other languages and I used to find it very interesting to sing in a language which I can’t speak. As it’s said MUSIC HAS ITS OWN LANGUAGE I definitely follow that. I try to get the accent right while singing in other languages because one should not understand that I don’t know the language when I am singing. So I try to take care of that..
What’s your creative process like when approaching a new song or project? Do you have any pre-recording rituals?
Well, I ask for the song before I go for a recording so that I can prepare it but having said that there are lots of changes that can take place while the recording is on. There are lyrical changes even some places tunes also get change while recording so you have to be able to adapt it and deliver it. Recording needs a lot of patience. I don’t really have any pre recording ritual as such just I keep myself calm and concentrate and just be in the moment.
You have sung for many web series. How does singing for visual media differ from other projects, and do you have a favorite web series you have worked on?
When I am singing for albums there is no situation there s no script. It’s a song you can give your own expressions and you can sing in your own way. But whenever you are singing for a visual media there is a script and there is a situation and you are singing for a particular character. The whole singing is based on that. So the briefing is very important and most of the times the situation is explained well so that the singer can express in a certain way. Till date my most favorite web series that I have sung for is PRARABDH..it’s available on YouTube.it’s a web series on Bhagwad geeta. Really nice story.
New talents are struggling to be recognised in the music industry.What are your suggestion for them to achieve their goals?
I think one has to be patient enough to make it in this industry. One has to keep working hard and harder. Believing in yourself and never give up attitude. Rest,the Almighty will take care.
How do you deal with the criticism in the music industry?
I think constructive criticism is always very healthy and it should be there for the growth of any artist. But these online trollings are something that one has to completely ignore and shut it down. Focus on the positive things and remove the negative things. That’s my motto.
Any upcoming projects or collaborations you can share with us?
Yes there are many projects in the pipeline. Very recently I have had a big release from Zee music. 2 bollywood films are releasing this year where I have sung. I have got many many tours both in india and in abroad for live shows.So a lot of exciting work coming up. Stay tuned.
