DesiDabba - Boss, Thoda Sa Roomani Ho Jaye

This is purely my opinion, but I feel that there are plenty of good male playback singers around. There is the tuneful Sonu Nigam, the joyful Kunal Ganjawala, the rocking Shaan, the soulful Hariharan and Anand Raaj Anand, the graceful Babul Supriyo – the overcrowded list goes on. It’s the female singers that I feel are missing something. And I do understand that they can hit the highs and lows with facility – but it’s the screechy-ness I have a problem with.

Sunidhi Chauhan is an exception. But take Tulsi Kumar – a Himesh Reshammiya prodigy - for one. How about Alka Yagnik? Or the celebrated Shreya Ghoshal? Hey even Richa Sharma – after the amazing Maahi Ve from Kaante got shrill. Gayatri Iyer? Great work on Kasak but same deal. Sneha Pant, Meghna Oberoi, even Mahalaxmi Iyer – they all fail to get me excited.

And that is when I heard two singers – both female - who made me sit up and listen closely. I was looking for that husky voice, something that sounded sensuous – like it belonged to a woman instead of a little girl. And both these singers deliver exactly that.

First, I heard Shilpa Rao singing Tose Naina Laage from Anwar. And if you haven’t been moved after listening to her sing her heart out, you should see a cardiologist. She has a voice that brings stillness to the song. It’ll be interesting to hear her sing more peppy numbers – it might stretch her talents. But for now, I hope she continues sounding full like she does.

Then I heard Himani Kapoor sing beautifully on a horrendous Himesh Reshammiya song called Meri Aawargi from Good Boy Bad Boy. Her lovely deep timbre struck me as being particulary noteworthy yet again (check out her work on Dil Diya hai). If her voice doesn’t turn you on, you may not have any switches.

So I went back and checked out her performance on Saare Gama Paa in the 2005 season since I never did watch that show. And sure, she gets a little lost when she has to hit those highs at a good clip, but she is definitely a talent, this girl. Here is hoping the industry allows her to continue to sing in that dusky voice of her instead of asking her to sound like an “innocent babe”.