Neha Pandey brings Mashgool to Dubai

Neha Pandey has come a long way since winning Zee TV's national contest in the indie pop category in 2001 and being a finalist on Channel V's Popstars. The elegant, soft-spoken Dubai-based singer-performer charmed us on her first visit to the Khaleej Times office last year to talk up her latest track Busy, Busy (which has now crossed 30 million views on SpotlampE), and when we met her for the second time last week she had a new milestone to discuss - the release of the Arabic version, Mashgool, of Busy, Busy. Mashgool is an engaging collaboration between Neha (@realnehapandey) and Emirati singer Hassan Ali Ahmed. Excerpts from our chat with Neha:
Tell us about your new track, Mashgool.
Mashgool is the Arabic version of my dear song Busy, Busy which has been getting a great response since its release last year. Some of my Arab friends wanted to hear an Arabic version of the song. I've been living in this region for a while now and I've always loved how Arabic songs sound and the language is so artistic; I wanted to do something in Arabic even though I couldn't speak the language. But I believe music has no language. So, we can sing in a language that's not our own. 
Where can we listen to Mashgool?
It's been released on Bollywood music network 9XM's label, SpotlampE and is available on all 9XM channels. 
How did the collaboration with Emirati singer Hassan Ali Ahmed come about?
Hassan is one of the most popular Emirati singers and we are celebrating the Year of Tolerance as well so it made sense to come together. Also living in this country for a while now I realise I owe a lot to the country and I wanted to have an Emirati singer on board to be part of the journey. I know many Arab musicians here; I came across Hassan and he was very excited to be part of it, and it just happened. 
What was it like singing in Arabic? Was it your first time singing in the language?
It's actually my second time singing in Arabic, but my first time singing one of my original songs in Arabic. 
Since the song is entirely in Arabic now, what do you feel about the translation?
The lyricist is Emirati and a very dear friend of mine, Maha Al Tayer. It was pretty easy for her to pen the lyrics for me and it took a bit of training for me to sing, I needed the right diction, but I was so passionate about it so I had to do it. For me passion is everything. 
So we've seen the video for Mashgool, and you look very glamorous. What is it like shooting the video to a song? Is there a lot of preparation and groundwork involved? 
Yes absolutely, you need a story board and there are a lot of other things involved. Of course you could always have someone singing on stage and film that as a video - kind of impromptu - but this video (for Mashgool) had a storyboard, and we wanted to showcase Arabic culture as well while not missing out on the essence of the song. We wanted to blend the two. It took about a month to shoot. 
How do you feel about featuring in your own videos? 
I think I'm quite blessed in that I always enjoyed being on screen. I call myself a performer, not just a singer. Like the pop icons of the 90s - I visualise and just do it my way. 
How important are videos in this day and age?
I feel videos are important to keep people hooked to songs. Of course for those who really love music, videos don't matter so much. But for those who are more visual, it draws them in too. It's only doing good to the song to have good visuals for it, so it gets more airplay.
Busy, Busy has racked up over 30 million views since its release last year. How does that make you feel? 
I really feel very blessed to have this response to a song coming from an independent artist. I've seen many established artists who are not able to get that many views. I'm very lucky to have sung a song like Busy, Busy which was created keeping my voice in mind. 
What are you working on next?
We've already started shooting for a new song that should be out in the next couple of weeks; it's very upbeat, anyone could connect to it but mostly the younger crowd, in India and abroad. I like to keep it global. For example for Mashgool, we have many nationalities involved. I didn't want to be a stereotype; I wanted to think out of the box and do music with people from different parts of the world. That's the best thing about living in Dubai. 
How has your journey in music been so far and what are your hopes for the future?
It's been very fruitful. It took a long time to get where I am, more than 15 years. It was quite difficult but my resilience and persistence have paid off. I've always been passionate about music and I don't give up. I'm very positive about future projects also.
Quick takes with Neha
Favourite English track:
Addicted to Boney M right now.
Favourite Hindi track:
Babuji Dheere Chalna. I like Geeta Dutt.
If you could do a cover version:
It would be Babuji Dheere Chalna. I'm so hooked to this song.
Dream collaboration:
Amr Diab. I have his entire music collection.
Message for music lovers:
Please (I'm being selfish!), I would want you to listen to my song Mashgool, it's on SpotlampE, YouTube and you can look it up on Google. Please share your comments, give it your love and help us make it more popular. Thank you!
enid@khaleejtimes.com 

• Dubai