There are camps in Bollywood, they have their set singers: Shibani Kashyap

It’s been nearly five years since Shibani Kashyap lent her voice to a Bollywood song. The singer-composer, who has been keeping busy with live shows and concerts, says she knows better than to ask for work from the “camps” of the industry.

While Kashyap is open to singing for films, she doesn’t “believe in knocking on a door that won’t open”. “There are camps [in Bollywood] and they have their set singers and musicians. Wahan par kisi aur ki entry nahin hai. So, I think, there is no point trying to tread that path. I need my music to be followed and loved by people, and that’s happening anyway,” says the 44-year-old, who recently represented India in Uzbekistan with a performance during a diplomatic event.

The Sajna Aa Bhi Jaa (Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II; 2003) singer says she had to learn the hard way that “music giants” control the industry and decide who can enter. Ask if she ever felt cornered, and pat comes the response: “Always! My very first song, Hogai Hai Mohabbat, was a big hit and I thought nothing can stop me now. I expected a smooth sail thereon, but I was so wrong because I faced bigger hindrances and challenges. It felt like you have to be part of some camp to go ahead.”

Being a “female artiste in a male-dominated industry”, the singer shares, meant her path was riddled with obstacles. “A lot of people could not accept a Delhi girl doing everything all by herself. I remember knocking on many music directors’ doors, and the response would always be, ‘Arre, you make your own music, why are you calling us?’” she recalls.

At present, she is content and happy with the kind of work coming her way. “Apart from the concerts and musical events, I get to do some prestigious shows like visiting different countries as officials and representing India. That for me is a bigger feather in my hat. When I am representing country, I feel the proudest,” she wraps up.