Jonita Gandhi: Songs In Bollywood Are More Male Dominant

This 28-year-old is super talented and has given Bollywood some hit tracks like 'Kahaan Hoon Main' and 'Implosive Silence' from the much talked about Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt-starrer 'Highway', has been featured in A.R Rahman's album 'Raunaq' as well, and more. Singer Jonita Gandhi is an Indo-Canadian singer who has sung in English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Bengali, Telugu, Punjabi, Kannada and Malayalam. 

HerZindagi got in touch with Jonita, who has launched her music video 'Taajub Hai' in collaboration with JetSynthesys’ Music Boutique as part of the OnePlus Playback series on YouTube. The 'The Breakup Song' crooner spoke at length on the current music scenario in Bollywood and if any disparity exists when it comes to male and female singers. 

She says that there are more male dominant songs in the Bollywood music industry than that for women. 

'One thing I’ve commented on before, as many others have also noted, is that due to the nature of Bollywood films, there are usually more male dominant songs required for a film than there are female these days. Hopefully, that will even itself out soon, she said.

There Are Many Good Singers But Not All Can Nail Live Performances. Are We Lacking Something?  

Performing live can be nerve-wracking. There is a fine line to be drawn balancing technique with stage presence and initially it can be a real challenge to learn to strike that balance. It’s important to be able to connect with your audience and still sing on point.

Jonita, who was born in New Delhi but grew up in Canada, has completed her degrees in health science and business. She also received an internship at CIBC World Markets during her undergrad, but, since her bend was always towards music an singing, she took formal training in Western classical music and during her stay in India she took up training in Hindustani classical singing.

How Has Life Been Since The Time You Got Into The Indian Music Industry?

A roller coaster! But I absolutely love it. No two days are alike. And some days have more than 24 hours and multiple time zones. But I wouldn’t trade a moment of it for anything else.

How Would You Describe The Music Scene In The Country At The Moment?

It’s vast. There’s a lot going on. In recent times there’s been a lot more acceptance for the development of independent music and it’s wonderful to finally see more people embrace music beyond Bollywood.

Jonita's work as a playback singer is not limited to film soundtracks, she has also sung for Mani Ratnam's Tamil film 'OK Kanmani'.   

When You Record Tracks In Other Regional Languages, Is It As Easy As It Is In English or Hindi? 

I definitely have to practice more for regional languages. With Hindi and English songs, the lyrics are familiar so the focus is more on learning the composition. But with regional languages, there’s an added component of ensuring that I have my pronunciation intact, so that takes a bit more practice to make sure I get it right. Pronunciation is really important because a slight variation could change the whole meaning of the word, so I rather work hard and get it right than sing the lyrics incorrectly.

About her latest track, Jonita spoke on its idea and essence.

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At some point in life, we all faced a situation where our hearts say one thing while our mind says another. 'Taajub Hai' depicts a young girl alone in her home entertaining herself. It’s a unique interpretation of the girl’s battle between her heart and mind in the comfort of her home.

What Kind Of Tracks Do You Connect More With Or Having More Fun With While Recording?

I really enjoy singing and I love being put in different situations. That being said, I feel like I approach every new song with an open heart and mind and embrace the opportunity to become the character whose story I’m singing of or for. Whether it’s a ballad or an upbeat track or a classical track, it’s the emotion conveyed that I really enjoy connecting to and that’s part of what makes the entire experience fun for me.

So this is how inspiring Jonita is. Along with listening and watching her track, we hope Jonita's short interview gave you some insight on the Bollywood Music Industry. If you would like o comment on something, check out our Facebook page and go ahead.