New Delhi, July 22 (IANS) Neha Kakkar is fast emerging a one-woman industry of sorts, belting out hits with astonishing regularity and currently ruling the roost. She says it is never a bad time to be a singer in the industry.
Over the past years, she has delivered back-to-back hits that include film songs such as "Garmi", "Dilbar" and "O saki saki".
Asked if it is a good time to be a singer in the industry, Neha told IANS: "It's never a bad time to be a singer in the industry, that's for sure. How unique you are matters but most of all, it's important to be a good human being. All our friends in the music industry are really nice and we wish them success."
In a very short time, Neha has become the undisputed queen of remixes. Before making her debut in Bollywood, Neha and her siblings Tony and Sonu Kakkar sang at jagratas.
She looks back at her journey from singing at jagratas to being one of Bollywood's top singers, and calls it a "humbling" one.
"It's been hard work, and honest work. The journey has been humbling and it's so valuable for me to be able to measure how we have grown. My fans make my journey worth it, too!" she said.
With success comes criticism. Neha, who recently got married to singer Rohanpreet Singh, has often been trolled on social media and has also been a material to memes and jokes. She is not much bothered by negative comments coming her way.
How does she not get affected by the heavy trolling on social media? "Work hard, stay honest, stay humble, be open to growing and never lose faith," she replied.
What's next for Neha? The 33-year-old singer said: "There are a lot of things in the pipeline, you will get to know very soon with a big announcement."
Neha recently performed on the app MX Takatak, and she says: "To have such an extensive line-up across 52 weeks is unheard of in the digital space. I am super happy, excited and humbled that I am launching Takatak Manch."
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani went back in time and showed her lighter side as she blamed filmmaker Karan Johar's hamper for her weight gain.
It has gone to researcher Gopika Kottantharayil Bhasi from Thrissur (Kerala), working on farming practices through animal science, ecology and molecular studies.
Dancing diva Malaika Arora shot to fame with the song "Chaiyya chaiyya" back in 1998. She feels that though there is a trend of remixes these days, the AR Rahman composition is one of those numbers that simply shouldn't be touched.
An old video of Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth, mouthing an evergreen dialogue of the 1995 Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol blockbuster "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge", has resurfaced on social media and has gone viral.
Filmmaker-producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra has lashed out at people criticising his new film "Shikara". He says those who have accused him of commercialising the plight of Kashmiri Pandits in the film are "gadhe" (donkeys).
