There is still a lot left to achieve: Shilpa Rao

Singer Shilpa Rao, who was in town for a private event recently, is all smiles when she talks about performing in Bengaluru. “We’ve done so many concerts here since 2009, across different venues in the city. Fans in Bengaluru are very learned when it comes to music. In fact, I’ve been an audience too, for shows like that of Carlos Santana, who performed in the city 10 years ago,” says the 38-year-old.

There is one place in the city which is a must-visit for the Khuda Jaane (Bachna Ae Haseeno, 2008) singer: “I have to step inside Hatti Kaapi and get my dose of traditional filter coffee, every single time I land here. And it’s an unsaid rule now, to take some of these coffee packets for friends in Mumbai as well! Apart from that, there are other places like Koshy’s, that I love visiting. I usually depend on my friends who live here, to take me around and I’m very open to anyone who’d like to offer a tour too!”

Rao who was the only Bollywood music artiste to be nominated for the Grammy’s two years ago, feels that there’s still a lot more to achieve. “There’s so much left to do! There are so many artistes I want to work with. I feel an artiste should always keep their willingness to explore and learn, alive,” she tells us.

Talking about her music going pan-India, Rao feels, music that transcends boundaries and spreads message of love, is the need of the hour. “I have sung songs in Bengali, Gujarati and the upcoming songs from Pathaan, which are translated in Tamil and Telugu too. I am open to working in every language. For me, it’s not about the language but more about what the music stands for,” she explains.

Towards the end of the conversation, Rao reflects upon the year gone by and shares her learnings from it. “I just feel that we as humans need to hold on to the learnings we got during the pandemic. The empathy and love we showed during those difficult days are all that we need in the new year too,” she concludes.