Independent music let me explore genres that I like: Shruti Pathak

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Shruti Pathak, the voice behind Bollywood hits like Mar Jawaan (Fashion, 2008) and Tujhe Bhula Diya (Anjaana Anjaani, 2010), has recently shifted her focus to independent music. The singer claims that she is not avoiding film music consciously, but is “exploring all genres and doing the kind of work that I enjoy.”

Pathak continues, “All the songs that I have done in my career so far, whether it was Mar Jawaan or Paayaliya (Dev D, 2009), are tracks worth remembering. Instead of just adding random number of songs to my profile, I have always tried to work with amazing musicians and do some good work. And even now, I have been making firm choices of not taking up everything coming my way. That’s why a lot of independent music is happening for me.”

As an artiste, who has been observing the industry up close, Shruti says, “I don’t see many original songs being written of late. Though I am not opposed to recreation, I believe it is being overdone. It’s sad to see how so many good films have released in the last five years, and yet we can’t even name five good songs. That’s because for the past two decades, the music industry had been dominated by Bollywood, with no space for independent music, except for 1-2 songs.” Having said that, Pathak feels that now artistes are focusing on it again, which is a change she is pleased about.

Ask her if there have been situations in the last 14 years of working as a singer, where she felt creatively suffocated working as artistes, Pathak tells us that she is not the kind of person who will succumb to a situation despite her unpleasant experience. “In my career, I have always done the kind of work I like and the reason is an amalgamation of two things – a conscious choice to work on projects that I like and life blessing me with opportunities that align with my perception,” she ends.