Priya Patidar on Welcome to the Jungle: Surreal to sing track for Raveena Tandon
Priya Patidar said recording the Welcome to the Jungle title track and singing for Raveena Tandon felt surreal. She said the release marked her long-awaited playback breakthrough and carried emotional weight for her family.
Ever since the first song from Welcome to the Jungle dropped, singer Priya Patidar has been inundated with calls and messages. And this validation comes as the fruit of the patience she maintained for almost 18 years to get her ‘proper playback’ moment. In an exclusive chat with India Today, Priya recalled how the opportunity came unexpectedly to her and thanked Akshay Kumar for the same.
Priya Patidar expresses gratitude to Vikram Montrose, Akshay Kumar
Priya Patidar shared that composer Vikram Montrose asked her to rush to his studio one fine day. Given that they had worked together earlier, she did not think much of it and recorded the scratch (sample). “The moment he played the song, that’s when I was shocked. I have grown up listening to and singing Welcome songs. I was excited and nervous, but also very excited,” she said, adding that she had forgotten all about the song until Vikram called her again.
Priya Patidar on singing for three leading ladies
Priya said, "Frankly, I did not call him because if it wasn’t working out, I would have been heartbroken. Also, I knew he would inform me, but as it happened, he forgot. A few days before the release, he called me to inform me that they were releasing the song. And I was shocked as well as happily surprised."
"We have all been fans of the song since 2007. I was very young at that time, of course, but I never thought I would get to voice the song myself in the future. Apart from Vikram, I would, of course, like to thank the lyricist Meggha Bali, and most importantly, Akshay Kumar sir. It’s his film, and him approving my voice means a lot to me," she added.
What surprised Priya even more was discovering that her voice had been picturised on multiple leading ladies in the film, including Raveena Tandon. The singer said, "I didn’t know the whole cast was in this because when I recorded the song, there weren’t many details. So it was a very big surprise for me that I have done playback for three beautiful ladies at once, and one of them is Raveena ma’am."
"I have performed live to her songs, but to do playback for her is an achievement in itself. And more than me, my mother is joyous about it, as she is a fan of the actor. Also, Vikram has done a fabulous job of setting the song in a jungle with all the different quirks and background sounds," she added.
Priya Patidar on the hardships faced by female playback singers
Despite the celebratory moment, Priya admitted that playback singing has become increasingly difficult for female singers in today’s industry. While there has been a decline in duets, not many songs are picturised solely on women these days either.
She said, “It is actually very tough. And honestly, for singers, their real journey begins after their first big song. And I hope I keep getting such opportunities. It’s been a long journey for me, and when you see people achieve things in life, you feel happy, but as a human, you also resent why things are not working out for you. But it’s your passion and belief in yourself that keeps you going.”
The singer also revealed that the journey is deeply emotional for her family because her mother once dreamt of becoming a playback singer herself. “My mom wanted to be a playback singer. She got married at a very young age, and given how the industry was perceived back then, she wasn’t allowed to follow her dreams. So apart from my dreams, I was also fighting for hers, and I think we are on the right track,” Priya said with a smile.
On a final note, we asked her to name the actresses who are on her wishlist. “I really want to sing, do playback for Aishwarya Rai ma’am. Second is Kareena Kapoor ma’am. And third is Alia Bhatt ma’am. I really feel my voice will suit them, and I hope a filmmaker and composer feel the same too,” she concluded.
Directed by Ahmed Khan, Welcome to the Jungle will release on June 24.
In a historical move, the multi-cast film features a rally of actors including Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi, Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Farida Jalal, Johny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Daler Mehndi and Aftab Shivdasani, among others
Ever since the first song from Welcome to the Jungle dropped, singer Priya Patidar has been inundated with calls and messages. And this validation comes as the fruit of the patience she maintained for almost 18 years to get her ‘proper playback’ moment. In an exclusive chat with India Today, Priya recalled how the opportunity came unexpectedly to her and thanked Akshay Kumar for the same.
Priya Patidar expresses gratitude to Vikram Montrose, Akshay Kumar
Priya Patidar shared that composer Vikram Montrose asked her to rush to his studio one fine day. Given that they had worked together earlier, she did not think much of it and recorded the scratch (sample). “The moment he played the song, that’s when I was shocked. I have grown up listening to and singing Welcome songs. I was excited and nervous, but also very excited,” she said, adding that she had forgotten all about the song until Vikram called her again.
Priya Patidar on singing for three leading ladies
Priya said, "Frankly, I did not call him because if it wasn’t working out, I would have been heartbroken. Also, I knew he would inform me, but as it happened, he forgot. A few days before the release, he called me to inform me that they were releasing the song. And I was shocked as well as happily surprised."
"We have all been fans of the song since 2007. I was very young at that time, of course, but I never thought I would get to voice the song myself in the future. Apart from Vikram, I would, of course, like to thank the lyricist Meggha Bali, and most importantly, Akshay Kumar sir. It’s his film, and him approving my voice means a lot to me," she added.
What surprised Priya even more was discovering that her voice had been picturised on multiple leading ladies in the film, including Raveena Tandon. The singer said, "I didn’t know the whole cast was in this because when I recorded the song, there weren’t many details. So it was a very big surprise for me that I have done playback for three beautiful ladies at once, and one of them is Raveena ma’am."
"I have performed live to her songs, but to do playback for her is an achievement in itself. And more than me, my mother is joyous about it, as she is a fan of the actor. Also, Vikram has done a fabulous job of setting the song in a jungle with all the different quirks and background sounds," she added.
Priya Patidar on the hardships faced by female playback singers
Despite the celebratory moment, Priya admitted that playback singing has become increasingly difficult for female singers in today’s industry. While there has been a decline in duets, not many songs are picturised solely on women these days either.
She said, “It is actually very tough. And honestly, for singers, their real journey begins after their first big song. And I hope I keep getting such opportunities. It’s been a long journey for me, and when you see people achieve things in life, you feel happy, but as a human, you also resent why things are not working out for you. But it’s your passion and belief in yourself that keeps you going.”
The singer also revealed that the journey is deeply emotional for her family because her mother once dreamt of becoming a playback singer herself. “My mom wanted to be a playback singer. She got married at a very young age, and given how the industry was perceived back then, she wasn’t allowed to follow her dreams. So apart from my dreams, I was also fighting for hers, and I think we are on the right track,” Priya said with a smile.
On a final note, we asked her to name the actresses who are on her wishlist. “I really want to sing, do playback for Aishwarya Rai ma’am. Second is Kareena Kapoor ma’am. And third is Alia Bhatt ma’am. I really feel my voice will suit them, and I hope a filmmaker and composer feel the same too,” she concluded.
Directed by Ahmed Khan, Welcome to the Jungle will release on June 24.
In a historical move, the multi-cast film features a rally of actors including Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi, Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Farida Jalal, Johny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Daler Mehndi and Aftab Shivdasani, among others
