Musicians in sync

It's a surprisingly sunny July afternoon in Mumbai when we enter 1 BHK in Oshiwara for a Lunchbox session with Shalmali Kholgade and Imaad Shah. Shah has reached just minutes before us and, as it happens, is in the process of giving us a call right when we walk up to him with a "Hi". He is the Madboy half of indie duo Madboy/Mink, who've just released their third EP, P.E.S.F. He also dabbles in acting on and off, and made his debut as a theatre director last year.

Kholgade, on the other hand, is a Bollywood singer. But, she is one of those rare playback artistes whose sensibilities are inherently western. This lends a certain flavour to her songs that you'd be hard-pressed to find. And here, she first gives Shah a hug on arriving, before reminiscing about their college days together. "I was in FYJC, and he would come [to college], never talk, and we would watch him meekly from far thinking, 'Wow, this guy is like some major star, who just listens to his music,'" Kholgade laughs, as Shah responds with a half-shy, half-apologetic smile. Then, the conversation meanders to their craft and food trends in Mumbai, among other stuff.

Imaad Shah and Shalmali Kholgade at 1 BHK in Oshiwara. Pics/Shadab Khan

Shalmali: You know, we were at a party the other day and were ordering takeaway. There's always confusion there, right, about who wants what, though we generally end up ordering pizza. But there was this one girl who was like [putting on an accent], 'Can we have, umm, Italian? Or Asian?' And I was like, 'Wait, what? Asian?' It's always Chinese, right? But I guess now people have started using 'Asian', because there's Japanese, Korean and all these other cuisines. So Mumbai is becoming fancy, moving beyond just 'Chinese' dishes.

Shunashir: Except in lunch homes, where menus are still divided into Chinese and Indian.
Shalmali: Yeah. South Indian, Punjabi and Chinese - those are the broad categories.
Imaad: Even the Malwani joints add a Chinese and tandoori twist to their menus, because those are the family crowd-pleasers.

Shunashir: Any particular Malwani restaurants you dig?
Imaad: Oh yeah, there are tons of them. I think that side of town, places like Dadar, have the better ones.
Shalmali: But the one that I really like in the suburbs, which is my favourite, is Gajalee.
Imaad: Yeah, Gajalee is great. Then there's Malwani Kalwan as well, in Versova and Malad.

Shunashir: Right, that's a good one. But tell me something. Imaad, you've just launched an EP. [To both] What's the day of the release like for an artiste? I mean, there must obviously be a mix of excitement and jitters.
Imaad: Yaar, it's usually a lot of hectic activity happening all around you. But it's great to know that people will now get to hear something that you have been working on with so much intent and concentration for such a long time. That's the good bit. But it's only after a period of time, once the album has had a chance to marinate for a while, that word starts getting around and people start listening to the tracks.

Shalmali: I think Imaad has more experience when it comes to independent music. But with my last single, Aye, launched last year, it was with me for such a long while that by the time it was released, I was like, 'I just want to get it out of the way and move on from here.' So, I don't know. You are constantly wondering whether people are going to like it or not. And then, if there's also a video with the track, people will say, 'Kya mast video banaya, yaar.' But you've released a song. So, I don't know what people are expecting. Is it a video, or a song, or both cumulatively? I really don't know.

The food arrives - onion rings, house grilled fish, and chickpea hummus with chilli thecha and poi.

Shunashir (to Imaad): When is it that you realised you want to be an independent musician?
Imaad: Um, I started playing the guitar when I was 13 and since then I was like, 'Kuchh toh karenge music leke.' But at that time it was a huge mystery. What the hell is going to happen to me? How am I going to play music professionally? Those were the questions. But slowly, things started becoming clearer.
Shalmali: See, sometimes, for some people, things are clear from the beginning about what they want to do. And others sort of think, 'Oh, am I good at this?' I mean, when I got my first Bollywood song, I wasn't singing in Hindi at all before that. I had trained in classical with my mother, but I always only sang in English. So, when I sang Pareshan [from the film Ishaqzaade], I was like, 'Wow, I can sing in Hindi also!'

Shunashir: And how did you get rid of the confusion you were talking about earlier, Imaad?
Imaad: It's actually still there at some level, the confusion. It's an ongoing process. But I think it's when I started producing my own tracks that things became a lot simpler. Earlier, I guess I was more of a singer-songwriter. I had written a ton of songs in Hindi and English.
Shalmali: You write in Hindi also?
Imaad: Yeah, I will make you hear a couple of songs. I write a lot of lyrics too.
Shalmali: Oh wow. Let's meet, man!
Imaad: Yeah, totally. We should jam.
Shalmali: Of course, because I am not meek or scared of you anymore [laughs].

Quick takes
An international artiste you would like to collaborate with.
Imaad: Herbie Hancock. I'm nowhere near his level, but he's one of the great innovators. And I'd get him to play a synthesizer like he did in the '70s.
Shalmali: I think I would go for Bruno Mars.

An Indian indie artiste you would like to work with.
Imaad: She's not really indie, but Asha Puthli. I'm in love with her voice. It's got a lot of personality.
Shalmali: Harry Sandhu isn't really indie either. But he's one Indian musician I'd like to sing with.
If you had to go on a romantic date in Mumbai, what restaurant would you go to?
Imaad: That depends on my date.
Shalmali: The restaurant on the 18th floor at Westin is really nice.

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