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Mahalakshmi Iyer, Neha Nagpal, Ruma and Shweta Pandit were launched by four of India’s biggest music companies — Sony, Crescendo, ...

Mahalakshmi Iyer, Neha Nagpal, Ruma and Shweta Pandit were launched by four of India’s biggest music companies — Sony, Crescendo, Magnasound and Virgin respectively — embracing Indipop at a time when it desperately needs the kiss of life.

MAHALAKSHMI IYER AFTER scores of jingles, Iyer bagged projects with A R Rahman and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. Chalka Chalka (from Saathiya) is her newest trophy. ‘‘But I’ve never planned my career or set targets,’’ she says. Iyer feels it was a desire to experiment that fuelled her passion for an album. ‘‘Film music comes with boundaries,’’ says the Chennai-based classical singer.

She also admits her album “is pure pop, but Shankar and the Instant Karma trio have added Latino and Blues flavour to some tracks’’.

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Iyer’s resume includes projects with Deep Forest and Talvin Singh. While she sang a shloka for a track called India on Deep Forest’s ‘Music Detected’, she sang a few lines in Hindi for a song called Silver Flowers on Singh’s album ‘Ha’.

NEHA NAGPAL

THE youngest of the lot , Bangalore-based Nagpal has set her eye on a Grammy. ‘‘My inspirations are Madonna and Britney Spears,’’ she says. Nagpal pursues this dream: After sending a demo CD to FM International, London, Nagpal cut her first album If I Could Dream with them. ‘‘I want to stick to pop and don’t want to get into Bollywood,’’ she says authoritatively.

Fourteen-year-old Nagpal’s Indipop identity will be established next year when Crescendo releases her new album. For now, Nagpal is taking choreography lessons and doing videos for her debut. ‘‘School is no problem,’’ says the ninth standard student, ‘‘but I won’t compromise on music.’’

RUMA

HER love for Marathi folk music led her to experiment with established lavanis like Disla (from V Shantaram’s Pinjra) and Hil Pori Hila. ‘‘I love lavanis and have grown up on songs like Disla,’’ says the 24-year-old Ruma. ‘‘Though I released a lounge version of Disla, I made sure that flavour wasn’t lost and the lyrics remained the same.’’

Ruma also plans to release an album with Qawwali remixes. ‘‘I also want to cut an original album, but even with remixes I’m not giving the audience what they’ve heard before,’’ argues the singer.

SHWETA PANDIT

THE 16-year-old lent her voice to films such as Raju Chacha, Dil Kya Kare and Saaz as a child. ‘‘I will focus on playback,’’ says Pandit, who released her debut album Mein Zindagi Hoon this year.

She claims that ‘the big break’ hasn’t been any easier because she had the backing of late Pandit Pratap Narayan, her grandfather and guru, or Bollywood biggies Jatin-Lalit, her uncles. Despite that, Shweta’s already bagged Haasil, Nayee Padosan, Soch and Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai after her debut in Chalte Chalte in Mohabbatein.

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So each is set to make her mark. After all, nothing’s swee-ter than the sound of success

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar speaking on the 80th anniversary of the United Nations (X/@DrSJaishankar)

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