Sourav Ganguly is the not the only one who silenced his critics with his comeback. She is certainly the Sourav Ganguly of the Indian music industry who made an equally successful comeback with her song Kajra re, just when her critics had just begun to erase her name from the fraternity. We are talking of Alisha Chinai, who dared to give disco a new look with her songs in Bollywood in the Eighties.

Two years down the line Alisha feels her second innings as a playback singer has much more exciting and encouraging than the first one. Ask her why and she says, "I could not have done songs with such variety as I am doing now. Not you can find me singing for all genres," says Alisha and she believes the credit largely vests with today’s music directors who have spotted her talent and utilized it.

"I must give credit to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy who not only had faith in my voice but also utilized my voice for a song which most others wouldn’t have dared to," says Alisha.

The singer was in the City of Joy to attend a press conference as a part of the Indian Idol judge’s panel. Though her earlier career had earned her the tag of ‘Baby Doll’ and the ‘Indian Madonna’ but Alisha now finds herself to have changed completely.

She is satisfied that her creative satisfaction as a singer is ultimately getting fulfilled and two years down the line after Kajra re she is one of the most sought after names with hits like No entry, Aaj ki raat among others.

Versatility is the key to success and Alisha believes that is what her helped her survive in the race in Bollywood where a singer like Sunidhi Chauhan is already being tagged as the next Alisha. What has Alisha to say about this?

"She is a talented singer and she too is versatile. I have heard that music directors in the past have asked her to emulate my voice but I think every singer has his her own identity. Sunidhi has a gifted voice and her originality is her biggest strength," says the singer who is happy to notice that Indipop, which was experiencing a low acceptance level among the audience is finally back.

"Every genre has highs and lows but with artists like Shaan and Sunidhi around Indipop is there to survive for long," she says. The audiences though haven’t seen too many Indipop artists making it big in Bollywood. Alisha is one of the few among them who has made it big tough she says a lot of it depends on the music directors.

"Today’s music directors are much more versatile because they listen to all genres of music. This is why I am enjoying more than what I did two decades ago. I would have done the song Kaate nahi kaati differently had I done it today," says Alisha.

Who can forget this song of hers with Kishore Kumar. And with the sequel of Mr India already being made Alisha is excited.

"I think they should take me this time too because Mr India is incomplete without me. The only person I will miss is Kishoreda. He was one of the few who really appreciated my voice even then," says she.

Sourav Ganguly is the not the only one who silenced his critics with his comeback. She is certainly the Sourav Ganguly of the Indian music Industry who made an equally successful comeback with her  s Kajra re, just when her critics had just begun to erase her name from the fraternity. We are talking of Alisha Chinai, who dared to give disco a new look with her songs in Bollywood in the Eighties.

Two years down the line Alisha feels her second innings as a playback singer has much more exciting and encouraging than the first one. Ask her why and she says, "I could not have done songs with such variety as I am doing now. Not you can find me singing for all genres," says Alisha and she believes the dredit largely vests with today’s music directors who have spotted her talent and utilized it.

"I must give credit to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy who not only had faith in my voice but also utilized my voice for a song which most others wouldn’t have dared to," says Alisha.

The singer was in the City of Joy to attend a press conference as a part of the Indian Idol judge’s panel. Though her earlier career had earned her the tag of ‘Baby Doll’ and the ‘Indian Madonna’ but Alisha now finds herself to have changed completely.

She is satisfied that her creative satisfaction as a singer is ultimately getting fulfilled and two years down the line after Kajra re she is one of the most sought after names with hits like No entry, Aaj ki raat among others.

Versatility is the key to success and Alisha believes that is what her helped her survive in the race in Bollywood where a singer like Sunidhi Chauhan is already being tagged as the next Alisha. What has Alisha to say about this?

"She is a talented singer and she too is versatile. I have heard that music directors in the past have asked her to emulate my voice but I think every singer has his her own identity. Sunidhi has a gifted voice and her originality is her biggest strength," says the singer who is happy to notice that Indipop, which was experiencing a low acceptance level among the audience is finally back.

"Every genre has highs and lows but with artists like Shaan and Sunidhi around Indipop is there to survive for long," she says. The audiences though haven’t seen too many Indipop artists making it big in Bollywood. Alisha is one of the few among them who has made it big tough she says a lot of it depends on the music directors.

"Today’s music directors are much more versatile because they listen to all genres of music. This is why I am enjoying more than what I did two decades ago. I would have done the song Kaate nahi kaati differently had I done it today," says Alisha.

Who can forget this song of hers with Kishore Kumar. And with the sequel of Mr India already being made Alisha is excited.

"I think they should take me this time too because Mr India is incomplete without me. The only person I will miss is Kishoreda. He was one of the few who really appreciated my voice even then," says she.

Background

Her real name is Sujata, though she has gone by Alisha Chinai (Shortened to Alisha), or Aleesha Chinoy professionally. A little known fact is that Sujata changed her name to that of her cousin's daughter Alisha (also Chinai) after she was born. Alisha Chinai (her cousin's daughter) is now a renowned fashion accessory designer in India with her label Bea Accessories. She is also known as the "Indian Madonna" (she was first known as Babydoll but an image change later resulted in the "Madonna" moniker).

Career

Chinai was discovered by the famous music director and composer Bappi Lahiri. They have done many disco hits together in many films in the 80`s including Dance Dance, Commando, Guru, Love Love Love and more. She started her career with him singing for almost every famous actress, such as Smita Patil, Mandakini, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla etc. In the 90`s she turned around for other films and music directors, such as Anu Malik and Nadeem-Shravan.

Later, simultaneously of playback singing, she has recorded many hits as a pop singer, with Album releases. Chinai was most famous for her 1996 single and album, titled "Made in India" which contains her most famous track "Lover Girl." Throughout her successful years, she had a number of hits in the Indian Films, including Roundhe (Pyar Tune Kya Kiya), Sona Sona Roop Hai (Bollywood/Hollywood), and the controversial Sexy turned Baby Mujhe Log Bole (Khuddar). However, her pop music career ended as her follow-up albums were less successful.

After a not so good career in pop music, Alisha decided to go back to filmi music. Her comeback song was "Oh My Darling" in the Yash Raj Film flop Mujhse Dosti Karoge  The movie did not do well and the song ended up being the worst song on the soundtrack. Her career resurrected on "Chot Dil Pe Lagi" (Ishq Vishk), where she teamed up with Anu Malik after stating she would never work with him again in 1995. More hits followed and Alisha came to have success again. The highlight of her career came with the song Kajra Re (Bunty Aur Babli). The song was a hit and Alisha's success grew as she won the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award.

Awards

• Alisha received the prestigious International Billboard Award around the time "Made in India" came out, and also won the Freddie Mercury Award for Artistic Excellence.
• Internationally, Alisha received attention when her song "Seulement Vous" won first place at the International Song Festival "Asia 2004". It was the first victory for India in the Song Contest.

Partial Discography

• Jadoo
• Aah!… Alisha
• Lover Girl
• Baby doll
• Madonna
• Bombay girl
• Made in India
• Om Namah Shivay
• Alisha

Memorable Hits

• Zooby Zooby (Dance Dance)
• Raat Bhare Jaamse (Tridev)
• My Adorable Darling (Main Khiladi Tu Anari)
• Tere Ishq Main Nachenge (Raja Hindustani)
• De diya Dil Piya (Keemat)
• Dil Ko Hazar Bar (Murder)
• Pyaar Aaya (Plan)
• Tinka Tinka (Karam)
• Kajra Re (Bunty aur Babli)
• Ishq Di Gali (No Entry)
• Aaj Ki Raat (Don)
• Touch me (Dhoom 2).

Indian Madonna is back with her new album Shut Up n Kiss Me. Post Kajra Re everyone’s singing her tune.

From Tips Music, Alisha Chinai’s album Shut Up N Kiss Me is a collection of 9 tracks & 3 remixes which is composed by Ravi Bal, Tom Lowry & Sachin Gupta.

Here is exclusive low down of pics, video and songs from this rocking album featuring who else but, Alisha Chinai.

As usual truly Made in India, Alisha looks swanky and sexy in the promotional photos of the album. Check out…

The album is the total Dance album with hip-hop & Rap thrown in. This is going to be a trend setting album by a Indian pop artist catering to the growing dance culture in the country. Courtesy: Tips Music

Check out exclusive Video from Album: Low resolution | High Resolution

Preview songs from the album here…

Shut Up & Kiss (Ravi Bal Mix)

Sohniya Aaja (Smedrock Dance Remix)

Tere Pyar Mein (351 Ibiza Mix)

Dil Goes Boom Boom (Mumbai Mix)

Meri Jaan Mujhe Kahke

Silsila (Jazzed Up Mix)

Ek Ghazal

Shut Up & Kiss Me (Ravi Bal HipHop Remix)

Sohniya Aaja (SL1 Booty Mix)

Sooni Meri Kalai

Be My Lady

Shut Up & Kiss Me (Cheeky Monkee Remix)

Baby doll? Nah!

Alisha Chinai has moved on leaving her rebellious image far behind

PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K

PROUD DESIAlisha Chinai, the Made in India brand 

If Indipop has got somewhere today, Alisha Chinai will certainly be among those who can take the credit. She came into the Indipop scene when it was in its infancy in the early 1980s, and lent it much visibility. Her album, Made in India with its risqué video, sold millions of copies. In recent times, she has sung a number in Bunty Aur Bubly, besides those in No Entry, Murder and Ishq Vishq.

In an interview, Alisha shared some thoughts on her past and present.

Madonna clearly influenced you a lot. How much of her persona do you still carry with you?

That I think is a thing of the past. What I liked about Madonna was her rebellious style and break-the-rules attitude. I am also defiant and rebellious. That has been my USP and that attitude is reflected in my music. But I have moved on. I have evolved, grown up, mellowed and softened. It happens to all of us. You can't be like what you were when you started out.

Was Made in India the album that brought about the change?

I did a 360-degree turn with Made in India. I am proud to be an Indian and it marked the beginning of a very Indian phase. The album was a trendsetter as it led to Indians taking a fresh look at their country. That was also when new genres of music came up.

How did you like playback singing even as you were bringing out solo albums?

Playback singing was a great fallback. It kept me in touch with the right kind of music. I am comfortable with film music because it is all about a situation — understanding the context, learning the song and giving a performance. I got to work with a number of composers and learnt a lot.

What do you think of Indipop today compared to what it was when you started out?

Indipop was at its infancy when I started. The concept had taken off and was still developing. Today, it is an extremely popular genre that has a vast mix of styles such as bhangra, folk, ghazal and Sufi. Then, there are the alternative and techno styles. The industry has expanded today.

Who did you want to be like in the world of singing?

If I had to emulate someone's voice, it would be that of Barbara Streisand. I also like Diana Ross. I can't ever be a Lata Mangeshkar because I can never mould my voice like hers.

PRASHANT G N

"Playback singers always get relegated to the sidelines. They continue to be underdogs of the music industry. We really need to be paid. I've been fighting for 10 years," Chinai told IANS.

"I've always maintained a parallel music career outside the movies. In the movies, they think they're doing me a favor. An average film star gets Rs.20 million ($ 46,000) , and a playback singer gets Rs.20,000 to 25,000 ($ 465582). Even when a song like Kajra re becomes a runaway hit, I don't benefit. We're paid the pits." Music director Bappi Lahiri's discovery, Chinai initially sang disco numbers in films like ‘Dance Dance', ‘Commando', ‘Guru' and ‘Love Love Love'. In 1996, she gave the hit album ‘Made in India'.

Nowadays Chinai demands and expects her price and says she is happy with the quantity of her work.

"Of course, a lot of producers settle for a mediocre voice. I'm quite happy singing my 10 songs a year. Singing less keeps my voice fresh."

Last year she released another non-film album, and one of the tracks titled Shut up and kiss me created a stir.

Laughs Chinai, "It was a very audacious and upfront song. I'm glad people saw it with a sense of humor. It was sexy, but not raunchy. So there were no raised eyebrows."

Years ago Chinai had created a controversy with the song Sexy, sexy for Karisma Kapoor in ‘Khuddar'. The words had to be changed to appease the moralists.

Chinai is heavily into astrology.

"My astrologer had predicted that the end of my bad phase would start with Kajra re.

That song resurrected my career, thanks to Aishwarya Rai who looked awesome. To be honest, I enjoy the thought of singing for Aishwarya, Kareena Kapoor and Vidya Balan.

"