Cheery Tunes

“I was heading to the US to pursue masters in vocal studies. Two demos (in English),meant to be used solely as audition material to get into the LA Music Academy,were sent a week later to Amit Trivedi’s studio because a friend persuaded me. Almost immediately the studio called me and a scratch version of Pareshaan was recorded that same night,” says Kholgade.

Ask her about her most interesting assignment so far and Kholgade says that it has to be working with musician Mikey McCleary,whose Khoya khoya chand and Hawa hawai (from the 2011 film Shaitan) topped the charts. “He heard me sing at a tribute concert for Amy Winehouse in Mumbai and asked me to be a part of the album Bartender. His brief to me was,‘Here’s the song,sing like how Amy would’ve sung it’. He also makes me ‘act out’ the song,to make sure that there’s depth and feeling in it,” says Kholgade,adding that she’d like to work with musicians such as Nitin Sawhney,and Richard Bona.

Having sung in over 11 languages,Kholgade says that she’d love to sing and act in a musical. “I see myself doing elaborate musicals — scripted and executed to perfection,” she says.

Kholgade is also fond of Kathak,likes to draw and paint and has recently taken up knitting. Ask her if she’d like to act in a film,she says impishly,“Never say never. Right now it’s all about my music,but then,if something comes along I will consider it.”