Hard Talk

Under all those layers of being a ‘bindaas chick’,Hard Kaur is guarded,focused and fiercely possessive about her independence,something that she has earned the hard way,and something that she promises to protect. Growing up in England and fighting for space and equality,without a father,was tough. “Those were hard times and it got harder when I chose to rap.” Rap,says Kaur,needs guts,and that doesn’t come easy in a male-dominated environment. It was in the ‘90s that the tom-boyish Kaur managed to crack quite a few glass ceilings,and is still doing that. In a collaboration with UK’s celebrated writer and actor,Meera Syal,not only does she speak strongly against domestic violence,but also against racism. “I want to help the elderly. Unlike in India,where there is a strong support system,in UK,they just abandon the old people,” says Kaur,who was in town to kickstart her all-India rap tour,the Tuborg Strong Fungama Nights. Parallel to her socially active life runs a musical track tempered with dance,party and lots of action,including collaborations with Pussycat Dolls and D12. “I am now proving to be a bridge between the East and the West,” says Kaur,who wore a bandwala hat in a fashionable beret tilt. Her voice is a little down from all the singing and rapping she did with Ranveer Singh at a music awards event in Delhi on Thursday. “Singh can rap,” she says. While films are off the radar,it’s a new album that’s taking up her time and mindspace these days. “My previous album,Superwoman,was about my journey — the trials,the tribulations,and it was dedicated to my mother. But the new one — I am still juggling with the titles Desi Dance or Indian Timing — is about the best part of my life,one that’s sorted.” Sorted it is,especially after she re-located permanently to Mumbai. “This is where I feel at home,without any discrimination or anyone picking on me. This is where I am most comfortable,” she says,looking forward to new challenges on TV after Jhalak Dikhla Ja and Comedy Circus. Talk the “M” word,and Kaur laughs it off. “I guess we can’t have everything at once. Many talented women lose their career once they start thinking like girls. I think like an individual,not black or white or brown or Asian or male or female,just as a person who wants to be treated as an equal.” Kaur will be performing in Pune,Jalandhar,Amritsar,Lucknow,Agra and Ambala as part of her six-city tour.