Bollywood singer Asees Kaur on why girls will relate to her new single, ‘Wanga Kaaliyan’

Thirty-one-year old Asees Kaur recently released a hit single titled ‘Wanga Kaaliyan’ that a lot of Indian girls can relate to.

This is a spirited song which describes the quintessential things a girl expects her lover to do, right from holding romantic conversations with her to taking her shopping, travelling the world with her and most importantly, spending quality time together.

The video of Wanga Kaaliyan is an animated lyric video with words beautifully penned by Raj Fatehpur, and composed by Vikas and produced by Sunny Vik.

Asees has previously sung chart toppers such as Ve Maahi from Kesari, Bolna along with Arjit Singh for the film Kapoor and Sons, Bandeya Re Bandeya from Simmba, Hui Malang from the film Malang, Baarish from Half Girlfriend and Rang Reza from Beiimaan Love amongst many others.

In an exclusive interview with YS Weekender, Bollywood singer Asees Kaur talks about her new song Wanga Kaaliyan, her early musical inspiration, how she got into playback singing, and her plans for the future.

Excerpts from the interview:

YSW: Tell us a little bit about your new song ‘Wanga Kaaliyan'. What was the inspiration behind it?

AK: Wanga Kaaliyan is a fun, peppy song, which highlights the desires and attention a girl seeks from her lover to be treated like a princess of the universe.

The idea behind the song was that since I have always done a lot of romantic and sad singles (non-film songs) I wanted to try something different. So, this time we decided to do a proper Punjabi number.

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YSW: Who were the key individuals who collaborated with you on this powerful track?

AK: I have collaborated with a wonderful and extremely talented trio for Wanga Kaaliyan. The trio comprises Raj Fatehpur, Vikas and Sunny Vik, who are quite well known in the industry for their lyrics and compositions and for the songs of popular Punjabi artists like Amy Virk and Jassie Gill. 

This is the first time I have worked with Raj Fatehpur.

YSW: Why did you decide to come out with a lyric animated video for ‘Wanga Kaaliyan’ as opposed to a video which features actors?

AK: The idea of coming up with an animated lyric video is primarily because of the lockdown.

If the situation had been normal, we would have shot a really amazing video featuring me or any other actor or actress. But since the lockdown happened, we decided to not delay things and decided to go ahead and release an animated lyric video.

YSW: Growing up in Haryana, what was the music scene like in your early years? Did you always want to be a singer?

AK: Yes, growing up in Haryana the music scene was a little dry, since Haryana is popular for other things such as wrestling. As far as music is concerned the scenario was not that great.

The learning process, which I have undergone in my childhood, was through listening to cassettes and then singing along and trying to do it myself.

YSW: Tell us a little bit about how you got into the Bollywood music industry. When were you first spotted?

AK: I shifted to Mumbai five years ago and it was just an instinct to take this step and come to Mumbai and meet music directors. Everybody liked my voice whenever I met them which motivated me to keep going.

That’s the reason I wanted to continue staying here, and keep meeting people, and that’s how I got my first song “Dildara” from the movie- ‘Tamanchey'.

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YSW: What was the feeling like when you received the award for ‘Upcoming Female Vocalist of the Year’ for your song Bolna in the film Kapoor & Sons with Arjit Singh?

AK: Winning ‘Upcoming Female Vocalist of the year’ for the song Bolna, was my first award and first duet with Arijit Singh.

It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. I have always wanted to sing along with him, and getting an award for the same song at such an early stage felt amazing.

YSW: Who are some of your early musical inspirations, singers, performers, and actors, musicians? Who are they now?

AK: My early musical inspirations have been Madam Noor Jahan Ji and Ghulam Ali khan Sahab. And now I really like Arijit Singh and I really get inspired by the way he sings.

YSW: Any musical memory or performance you look back fondly on?

AK: A musical memory I look back fondly on is the very first time I sang on stage. It was my first stage performance and I was only 5-6 years old.

I really got lot of appreciation for that and this was my first interaction with an audience, which has remained a great memory.

YSW: Can you tell us about what goes into composing a song?

AK: Well a lot of things go into the songwriting process, and for me composing a song comes naturally. I can’t really decide and sit down and say - 'Okay today I will compose a song.' It comes naturally.

Sometimes an idea arises when I am not in the process of thinking of a composition or trying to compose something. It can click when I am cooking or watching a movie. That’s how unprocessed it is.

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YSW: What is your advice to young aspiring playback singers and musicians out there?

AK: The advice would be: do riyaaz, it’s very important.

Please take out sometime daily and set a routine for a daily riyaaz or a vocal workout.

If you are really sincere with your riyaaz it will take you to greater heights.

YSW: Are you planning to release more non-film singles this year? Any plans to come out with a full-fledged album in the future.

AK: I have released 3-4 non-film songs during the COVID-19 lockdown. So right now, I am not planning to release any other non-film songs at least for another two months.

After that, of course, other non-film songs we will be releasing. And I have no plans of releasing a full-fledged album, because I think nowadays singles are doing well.

Also, I cannot wait to like collect a number of songs and then release it together as an album. But I think singles are doing great at the moment and I will continue to do that for now.

YSW: What do you enjoy doing most on the weekends when not writing music or playback singing?

AK: Apart from singing and writing songs, my favourite thing to do is watching web series whenever I get the time.