22-05-2025
Body positivity, Bollywood and a viral video: How Swiss Indian singer BombayMami is empowering women through music
Above BombayMami's 'Fire in Delhi' music video BombayMami: Rising through adversity
BombayMami's musical journey began in 2012, with different aliases like Tashan and with hits in English, French and German, like This Time (2019) and Yoga (2022) . She was about to go on a tour in Germany when it was cancelled by Covid-19—a blessing in disguise, she says, as it gave her time to reflect on her true path. Despite her success, she realised her career was heading in a direction that didn't feel authentic to her.
'I grew up in Switzerland, which is notoriously known for its lack of diversity,' she says. 'It took me a long time to find people who could embrace my identity and vision. In the process, I received more hate than love from the industry, especially from men I worked with, who didn't understand who I was.'
She recalls countless moments of suppression and attempts to shame her: 'I can't count the number of times men imposed their vision on me, the number of times I was told I couldn't sing, that I was too fat, that I was too Indian, that I was too much. Once, a guy wanted to use my voice for a song but said he would rather have a model pretending to sing than have me in the music video.'
Determined to reclaim her agency, she left her label and moved to London, where she found musical and cultural acceptance. 'In London, I felt a huge sense of belonging, I felt at home right away,' she says. 'Being surrounded by South Asian culture realigned me and helped me figure out how I wanted to approach my music: from a place of power, authenticity and heritage.'
Surrounded by a team that she could finally trust and motivated to celebrate her once-shamed Indian heritage, she reveals that it was the hit Bollywood song and her childhood favourite, Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai (an iconic song from the 1993 Bollywood movie Khal Nayak that was banned on Indian national TV for its raunchy lyrics), which gave her the epiphany she needed. 'That song is an absolute banger,' she says. 'It's a bit cheeky, a bit sexy, and it just became an obvious common thread to follow'—a thread that she will continue to pursue in Peaceful Attitude , her upcoming album.
'Channelling the sassy energy [of this Bollywood song in Peaceful Attitude ] has been my way of reclaiming my goddess power, because women's power is just constantly overlooked by society,' she adds.
Above BombayMami got inspired by the Bollywood classic song 'Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai' from the 1993 movie 'Khal Nayak' Empowerment through authenticity, feminism and body positivity
'From situationships to colleagues, I've been taken advantage of by a lot of men in the past years,' she says. 'It actually reassured me that the song was so liked by women and queer people. Not that I don't appreciate straight men, but I need a break from them,' she says, laughing. 'Unfortunately, patriarchy is a system that we're stuck in. So, the best I can do is to try to inspired women and queer folks to create their own reality and to follow their guts.'
To do so, the singer's second-favourite medium is probably her own body. As she says it herself: 'In BombayMami, music and aesthetics go hand in hand'.
Above Musical and visual identities are equally important for BombayMami (Photo: courtesy of BombayMami)
Above BombayMami will release her album, Peaceful Attitude, later this year (Photo: courtesy of BombayMami)
Through bold makeup, long nails, bling and colourful clothes, she says she reconnects with her inner power. 'Believe me, I have tons of insecurities,' she reveals. 'Some days I hate my cellulite and my arms so much, but paradoxically enough, I reappropriate my body through nakedness. The less I wear, the more comfortable I am in front of the camera.'
Despite the setbacks, she says she feels grateful to be able to live her life freely.
'I was fortunate enough to grow up in Switzerland, in a safe space where my parents were supportive and let me express myself, even when I've been showing a bit more skin,' she says. 'I want to offer that to other people around me.'
Before running back to work, BombayMami ends our interview with some guidelines: 'Everybody is welcome to my concerts, except if you're homophobic, transphobic, sexist or mistreat animals. Music only calls for love and celebrations.'
As she packs up her lunch and heads back to her day job, it's clear that this duality defines her—professional by day, cultural revolutionary by night. And as her music continues to inspire fans worldwide, she rides that momentum like she rides her snowboard: with fearless authenticity and unapologetic joy.
