Bollywood Singing,Canada-Style

It was the summer of 2011,when 23-year-old Canadian opera singer Natalie Di Luccio came across AR Rahman’s track Kahin to hogi vo from the film,Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Till then,she had been poring over opera libretto (text of an opera) in various languages and shaping her contralto (the lowest female pitch) range apart from creating her own brand of classical crossover music in Toronto. “I fell in love with the melody. I did not understand the language but I ended up making a homemade video that had me singing in broken Hindi,” says Luccio,who posted the video on YouTube. She also performed a cover of Pritam’s Tu jaane na for her Facebook friends. “My aunt is Indian,so I do have some Indian friends. I was not sure if I was pronouncing the lyrics correctly. I wondered if this will be one of those funny videos that people laugh at,” says Luccio,who received a million hits in the next few days and a barrage of emails. Among one of those mails was an offer to collaborate with AR Rahman. “I was so excited,I didn’t know what to do,” says Luccio,who then packed her bags and moved to India.

Now,after singing Sanskrit chants in singer Sonu Nigam’s album,Mahaganesha,and becoming a fixture in Rahman concerts,Luccio is busy recording a host of Bollywood tracks,exploring various genres of music in India and dabbling in Indian classical music. Recently,she finished shooting an episode of Coke Studio @MTV with music composer Amit Trivedi. “I am so overwhelmed by what India has to offer in terms of music. Every few kilometers,the language changes and so does the music — from Kutchhi folk and Rajasthani mand to Marathi lavani and the fascinating world of Indian classical music,” says Luccio.

Be it Marathi folk that she sang with singer-composer-lyricist Swanand Kirkire at a Pune concert,or a Gujrati folk number rendition set to Western classical beats for an album by music composer Rushi Vakil,Luccio says that the idea of improvisation works for her.

“Western classical music is always written down. We would stick to our music sheets and always sing while standing up. Indian music is a lot about oral legacy and I love the whole idea of improvisation,” says Luccio,who wants to experiment with various forms of music and collaborate with an array of musicians in India. “As much as I have enjoyed playback singing,I am more interested in belting out a different sound,working without set ideas and giving an unconventional sound to the audience. With my accent,I am not sure if my voice will work for a regular Bollywood actress,” says Luccio,who sang a track titled Fatal Attraction for Ladies vs Ricky Bahl last year. She also created a music video called Pehla Nasha,a reworking of the hit song from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar.

She is excited about her Coke Studio outing. “I had watched a lot of Coke Studio Pakistan and have loved the show. When Amit (Trivedi,also a producer of Coke Studio) asked me to participate in the show,I agreed without thinking twice. The song,a new composition,is a rock-pop track with interesting guitar riffs,” says Luccio.