From playback to pop

Then came Shehar ki ladki, which was picturised on Raveena Tandon. Dixit8217;s playback was so well suited to the actress8217;s personality that the audience thought Raveena had sung it herself!

But this time, it is a different story. Jawani, Dixit8217;s first album, which is being brought out by Venus, brings her firmly into the limelight. Dev Kohli has written the lyrics and the music is by Tabun. Five of the eight songs are dance numbers, interspersed with one folk tune and two ballads. The title attempts to showcase the mood of all the songs.

Jawani has been two years in the making. quot;The video took a while to make, too. But I am happy with the result, although there isn8217;t much of me on screen!quot; Dixit says. The title track has been picturised on Zulfi and model Rajshree Rathod who has done a couple of music videos before. As usual, Colossus is the one to direct it.

Dixit was born in Pune, but the family moved to Nigeria soon after, and that was where she spent her childhood. quot;We did come back to India after I finished school, but all that time spent abroad did not offer many opportunities to learn music,quot; she says. quot;When we did come here during the summer and Christmas vacations, we picked up the latest Hindi film music. So that was my initiation into music.quot;

Dixit8217;s parents were very fond of music themselves, indeed, her mother holds a Sangeet Visharad, and they often sang at community functions in Nigeria. When the Dixits returned to Pune, the budding singer was placed under the guidance of Saraswati Rane of the Kirana gharana. quot;That was when I began training formally. Soon afterwards, I participated in an inter-collegiate competition based on classical music where I won the first prize, I still wonder how! I was the youngest entrant and had barely learnt anything. Anyway, that gave me confidence to pursue what I was doing,quot; Dixit says.

Her training was based in Indian classical music, but on the advice of friends and family, Dixit shifted track to light music. She recalls, quot;People kept telling me that my voice quality was better suited to playback singing. So once I finished college in 1994, I moved to Mumbai to make a career in films. At that time, Tips Music was auditioning for its cover versions. Luck must have been with me once more because I was the only one selected out of hundreds of aspirants. I was engaged in a two-year contract with the company.quot;

One dismisses cover versions as not being much of an achievement, but Dixit offers a different perspective, which seems worth a thought. quot;I must say it was these albums that gave me so much exposure. The female voice in all the cover versions Tips brought out during those two years was mine. Had I waited for film songs to come my way, I would have got a fraction of the work I was doing. Also, with cover versions, a new singer can hone his talent and get valuable experience with the microphone. I was constantly doing different things. Now it would be a whispering melody, now a haunting one, then a bhajan or a mujra,quot; says the eloquent singer.

When Tips was making its first film, Coolie No. 1, Dixit was invited to dub Goriya chura na. Another singer was to do the final version. She says, quot;I was called at the eleventh hour, but of course I agreed to go! The very thought of working with Anand-Milind and Abhijeet was thrilling. After I did the song, I heard they liked it so much that they had decided to retain my version in the film!quot;

Dixit reluctantly turned down some offers she got after this film because she was still bound by contract to Tips. Once bitten twice shy, now she works on an assignment basis. She agreed to to do this album with Venus and is satisfied with the result. Those who have heard it seem to think likewise, for apparently the phone hasn8217;t stopped ringing.