'I've no qualms about singing item song, it doesn't imply that I become cheap': Rekha Bhardwaj opens up on singing Namak

Hindustan Times

3 days ago

Singer Rekha Bhardwaj has opened up about her hit song Namak from the 2006 film Omkara and how she 'wasn't getting much work' before its release. Speaking with News18, Rekha said that she is comfortable singing any genre of song, adding that lending her voice to an item track "doesn't imply that I become cheap". (Also Read | Rekha Bhardwaj reveals how late Jagjit Singh once made her feel 'so small', said her voice had lost its 'chamak')
Rekha recalled the time before she sang Namak. The singer said, 'It took me very long to rediscover that mischievous, naughty side of me through song. I had lost all confidence when I was first asked to sing it. But Vishal [Bhardwaj] believed in me. He played back a recording of me singing it casually one night and said, 'Only you can sing this.' That gave me the push I needed. Until that point, I wasn't getting much work. That song made me realise my potential."
Citing the example of Lataji Mangeshkar's Aa Jaane Jaan, she said that a "song can be sensuous and still be dignified". "If it is not aesthetic, I would not like to sing a track. Other than that, any form is good to me. I have no qualms about singing an item song; it doesn't imply that I become cheap or anything of the sort. Item songs are part of our cultural expression too. It's not about the form- it's about how it's executed. A song can be sensuous and still be dignified. Just look at Lataji's Aa Jaane Jaan – those kind of songs had grace, not vulgarity," she added.
Rekha has sung many other hit songs such as Laadki, Genda Phool, Mat Aana, Nikat, Aise Kyun, So Ja So Ja, Sakhi Ri, and Yeh Ishq Hai. She also lent her voice to Teri Fariyad, Dum Ghutta Hai, Zinda, Mileya Mileya, Hamari Atariya Pe, Pehli Baar Mohabbat, Mora Jiya Lagge Na, Oye Boy Charlie, Ghagra, Kabira, and Mat Aana and among others.