Viva girl, Anushka Manchanda gets ready to present herself to the world as Nuka

Anushka in her new avatar as Nuka. Pic/Pretika Menon

When we meet her at her sprawling Versova home on a hot Friday morning, Anushka Manchanda still looks like the fresh-faced 18-year-old we saw on our TV screens in 2002, as she beat thousands of girls to become part of India's first girl band, Viva. Sixteen years later, she is making another breakthrough - a metamorphosis of sorts, becoming the kind of artiste she really wants to be. With her new single, Don't be Afraid, which releases this week, she is born again as Nuka, an alias she says, that will see her not only as a singer, but also as a producer and visual artiste. "I have written, performed and produced this song, even edited the video - it's all me. I didn't want to work with anyone on this, as it had to be my baby."

As we watch the video, which also features her father Deepak, an ex-Merchant Navy officer, who is watching it with us, we find ourselves engrossed. Shot in Alibaug, it is Manchanda'a collaboration with Navzar Eranee of Walkabout Films, who has co-conceptualised and directed the video. It has Anushka singing - "Everybody has a weakness that they're working hard to hide; What you see up on the surface isn't always what's inside". The video seems now to be a metaphor for her own rebirth as the artiste Nuka. "It's interesting you say that. For me, nature is a big part of my life. The video is about how we go back to nature," says the 34-year-old.

Anushka with her Viva bandmates

The new song will also be a surprise for her listeners, who have heard her sing songs like Dum Maaro Dum and Golmaal. It's in the realm of electronic music, dreamy yet complicated, with lyrics that would make you go hmmm. "The song is about the journey of death, and the fear attached to the unknown. And, there is no need to be afraid of it at all. Go with the flow." It's clear that the artiste, once known as Anushka, wants to start afresh. But it's not just a change in name. There will be a new Instagram page, and a new image, to go with all that the all-new Anushka wants to say. "I use my social media to talk about things that matter to me - like the Free the Nipple series I did. I can't talk about all that, and then sing songs that are derogatory to women in any way. So, maybe I have got a little more choosy," says the singer. "Also, when people listen to my songs, and search for me, I don't want them to listen to everything else I have done. This is a different identity."

It seems to be a far cry from what we saw of her in Viva. "I remember going to a recording with these Bollywood music directors, and they were singing 'Aaaaaa' in the classical form, and I remember thinking, 'I can't do that!' I wish I had a bit more training that way," says Anushka, who grew up in Delhi. After Viva disbanded in 2005 after two albums, a Bollywood career took over. "I just kept going with the flow. I didn't plan any of it. It was only when my brother, Shikhar, and I made the Jack & Jones song featuring Ranveer Singh in 2016, that I realised this is fun. This is how I want it. So in a way, this is my first true indie offering." And her music, like her music tastes, promises to be "hard and dark". As she tells us, one of her favourite bands is dance music legends, Prodigy. "I grew up listening to that music. That's what I like. And I am finally ready to make that kind of music. But I am taking it slow, two more singles for this year. For an album, I need to gather a common thread that goes through. That will take some time. I am still figuring out what my sound is."

Anushka Manchanda

For now, all the focus is on releasing Don't Be Afraid, and pushing herself as an artist who has something to say. As we wind down our chat, and ask her about the ultimate inspiration behind this transformation, she recalls the time she went to protest against the proposed site of the Shivaji statue at Chowpatty. "The fishermen who were protesting had also been arrested. I came back and thought about how it didn't matter if I was there, and also that I didn't really put myself out there, because at some level, I was afraid." It was a question put to her by her then manager that jolted her. "He asked 'do you want to be an artiste or an activist?' It was a hard question. But that's when I realised that I could be an artiste and put my opinion out there through my art. It seems to work. And that's what Nuka aims to do."

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