20 years of Shreya Ghoshal: ‘I’ve grown up in this industry, I have great memories’

Shreya Ghoshal.

It’s been two decades since Sanjay Leela Bhansali picked a teenaged Shreya Ghoshal to sing for his magnum opus Devdas (2002). She swept the awards for that album and her career as a singer took off. More than 2,000 songs later in over 20 languages, the singer, composer and songwriter, says, “I think 20 years doesn’t even feel like 20 years to me. Pata nahi, mujhe toh aisa lagta hai ki kal hi toh shuru kiya hai (I still feel as if I just began my career yesterday).” She has also sung a track Sundari Pennae on this year's Grammys-nominated album Shuruaat by Berklee Indian Ensemble.

All set to perform at Inorbit mall in Mumbai's Malad today, after a gap of four years, Ghoshal reminisces, in an exclusive interview to Moneycontrol, about her journey in the Hindi film industry. Edited excerpts:

You have given us multiple hits over the last 20 years of your career. How does it feel after all these years? Tell us about the journey.

My team and my fans kept saying that it’s been 20 years and we should do something about this. While I do not feel like it (it's been 20 years) at all, later, I started reminiscing about all the past stories, songs and memories from those years. I went back in time, when I had met many amazing people on this journey, whom I have collaborated with and learnt from. There have been so many memories — the first song, the first recording, the first Kannada song, the first Bengali song, the first flight to an international tour, going on the stage for the first time to a big audience like the Royal Albert Hall or the Sydney Opera House — everything came back, all the firsts.

At a young age, you got the rare chance to perform at iconic venues like Royal Albert Hall, London, and the Sydney Opera House. Tell us about those experiences.

The Royal Albert Hall is a prestigious venue, and it is not given out to Indian artistes. It is very selective about showcasing Indian artistes in general, they have a particular protocol, and they decide and select the artistes. I was too nervous that day up on the stage there and genuinely on that concert night, I had goosebumps all through, right till the end. I still remember it was one of the most gorgeous venues I've seen, its acoustics was heavenly. I was surrounded by audiences on all sides in that most ornate, beautiful indoor auditorium that was filled to capacity. There were about 6,000 people and there were many more standing on the higher area. This was at a time when I was almost beginning in my career, so it was a very humbling experience for me. I just cannot forget the acoustics of that place and the way the music was sounding and the way the people were responding that night. It was the 100-year celebration of Indian cinema that year, so I did a whole half an hour section on it with Bollywood starting from the 1940s to the latest. That was one of the most amazing experiences, later there was the Sydney Opera House, too. And then there are many more such extraordinary venues and audiences over the years. While these memories have grown a little old, they come back to me vividly when I talk about them.

You began your career when you were still a teenager and now do you feel you have done it all?

No. I feel the other way. So many things happened to me at a very young age in my life. When I was still in my 20s, I learnt so much and I feel I am still there, it has not changed too much for me. I also feel that there is so much I have to do. There is such a lot to music, it only becomes more meaningful as you grow older and I feel I have probably only scratched the surface, there is a lot more to understand, experience and give as an artiste.

How has the experience of growing up in this industry been?

When I look back at my songs and listen to them, I really find that my voice was also so different in those days — I was a girl when I began. Over the years, I have matured, I have grown up in this industry. I have had such great memories and the last 20 years has been my true golden time — the journey of a girl who really loves music. Over the years, I have got the blessings of my colleagues and seniors and the young girls and the fans without which none of this would be possible.