Punjabi pop singer Aastha Gill: ‘Don’t ask me to make content’

It’s has been 10 years and people are still dancing to your songs Abhi toh party shuru huyi hai and DJ Waley Babu at parties.

Wow. I never realised that before you said it.

So, your new single released this month is called Nazar. You’ve sung the song Kaala Tikka with Badshah earlier. Are you superstitious in your personal life?

I’m not too superstitious but a little bit here and there sometimes. When everything is happening all right, I don’t think too much about it. But whenever I feel something is off, I feel as if nazar lag gayi (I have been jinxed).

Singer Aastha Gill and actor Suhail Nayyar in a still from Gill's new single 'Nazar', released on September 18, 2024.

Tell us about the making of the song Nazar.

We were not thinking that we have to create something on this topic but I just wanted to work on the UK Punjabi vibe from the 2000s. So, that was my brief to Hiten, who is the music producer, composer and lyricist on the song. We were just grooving and vibing when Badshah came into the room because we were in his studio for this. He (Badshah) also kind of got my vibe and he told Hiten how to give this a direction. From there Hiten took over and we started writing lyrics, we never thought we would make something around nazar (evil eye), but it was a fun process. That’s how it started.

Last year, you released Kyun and Vai Me Kehna. Are you averaging one solo a year?

So that’s exactly what I was figuring out this year. The initial six months of this year, I contemplated on my life and my career, what was going wrong, why am I going so slow. And then I started doing more music sessions. I moved to Bombay. Now I have a base in Bombay, too. Otherwise, I’m from Delhi. In Bombay, I started meeting more producers, lyricist, I’m sitting in the sessions, giving my inputs, getting involved in the creative process. I started writing lyrics and started composing. For the past seven-eight months, I have been trying to explore myself as an artist, and I’ve made a lot of music now, so I’m ready for the coming few years, I’m ready to launch.

Tell us about your growing up years, who was your favourite Punjabi pop singer?

I come from a musical background because my dad’s also a music director (Jaspal Singh) and Papa’s side of family is musical. I have lived music since I was a kid and I’ve been brought up in that environment. So, I got music from there. But I never thought I would pursue it as a career. For me, music was too much struggle and getting a chance in the industry is not easy, especially for seedhe log (naive people) basically. It’s very difficult to make it. But now things are different, opportunities are more. A lot of gates have opened for a lot of artists out there. So, I feel blessed to be born in this era where I got the opportunity to just present myself as who I am. Before this, I was working in advertising and this just happened by fluke, I just got into it and I held onto it.

And I feel there’s no such pop Punjabi artist that I would like to name here. I have grown up listening to Sunidhi Chauhan and I really like her voice, its texture, and the choice of songs that she has made. I also saw her perform live so many times. She’s my idol and that’s something I want to achieve. The kind of singing she does, how she plays with her voice, the kind of textures she puts in a song according to the vibe of the mood. That’s commendable. So, all that. That’s my goal.

Sunidhi Chauhan, in her era in Bollywood, got to sing a variety of songs that explored her range. That has reduced now greatly. What has been your experience?

That’s true, that is there but one good thing now is that we have the freedom to release anything that we want to because we are independent. We are not dependent on Bollywood anymore to release our music. If we like a certain kind of sound, we can just make it and put it out. People will love it. There is an audience for every kind of music.

Do you want to become the queen of party anthems and club music or would you explore more genres?

That one, I think, I have taken over already. But I really need to explore other genres because people have really typecast me with a certain kind of music. People look at my face and think I’ll only sing a party number. There are so many different sides of me. I’m a very emotional person. I’m a super loving person. So, all that needs to come out as well. So, in six months, I’ve just figured this out and now I am making a variety of everything which you will get to hear very soon, I promise.

When you came on Khatron Ke Khiladi reality show, you said you wanted to become a known face among the TV audience. Cut to now, being a jury with Amit Trivedi on Breakout Stars. Do you see a sort of a growth in respect and recognition in the industry for you?

I mean, yes, definitely there is. And I think TV is a very huge audience because a lot of masses in our country still watch TV and they follow whosoever they like religiously. If they like you, they’ll like you. So, that is something I experienced after Khatron Ke Khiladi. And honestly, being a judge of a show, it’s still is like a dream. And I still feel blessed that I got to sit next to that man. I just thank my stars. Amit Trivedi is a genius. He’s a very sweet human being. I thought he would be a little strict because I was very nervous when I met him but he was very sweet. And he’s a very calm person, he knows what he’s doing, what he’s done and what he’s capable of. It was such a contrast, he was this calm person and I was so jumpy. But it was nice and fun. I’m sure even he must have thought, yeh kahan se aa gayi (where did she pop out of)? (Laughs.)

Tell me, how crucial is it for an artist to also be a social media influencer?

Honestly, it is very important because of just the visibility factor. Right now, everyone who’s on social media is visible. Other than that, unless you are doing something amazingly big in your life, then you’ll be visible or if you have that kind of PR (public relations management), which is very important. But if you want to be visible, social media is the platform for everyone.

There’s nothing bad in that. It’s just that the kind of pressure we have, to be constantly on it, is unreal. And I am a person who can’t fake it. I was telling my team, ‘don’t ask me to make content. Whatever I’m doing, just record it and put it out there. That’s content.’

As a Punjabi female artist, how do you break into and stake claim to this male-dominated zone of Punjabi pop music?

It’s kind of tough, yes. But the key is just to be yourself and not pretend to be anyone else. I think that’s what everyone else is doing. Diljit Dosanjh is not pretending, he’s just being himself. Karan Aujla is being himself. So that’s the key. I can’t be Aastha Gill and try to behave like Rihanna or Beyoncé because that’s something that I’m not. If people will love you, they will love you. And if they don’t find you interesting, no matter what you do in life, people will not like you.

Can female singers demand their rightful pay like their male counterparts?

Honestly, I feel talking about finances is very personal. I never asked this question to anyone, so literally, I genuinely don’t know who’s making what money, but I feel in Bollywood, especially, any artist, male or female…I don’t know how male artists and other female artists are being paid…but I feel that everyone should be paid for whatever work they’re doing and for whatever the worth they’re bringing to the song. I don’t think a lot of artists are getting a lot of money singing in Bollywood, they think that singing in Bollywood films is enough.

Your most viral songs have been your duets with Badshah over the last decade. But tell us why did you bro-zone your co-singers Badshah and Raftaar?

Oh, that was a joke. That was genuinely a joke. I am glad I bro-zoned both of them because bros before you-know-what…

Recently, Badshah ended his 15-year feud with Yo Yo Honey Singh. How do you see it as a Badshah collaborator and friend? Can two artists be friends or does ego come into play?

Honestly, at this place, I can only say about myself because I don’t know about other people’s temperaments. Everyone is different in their lives. So, I can’t really comment on other people. According to me, if there is a vibe matching and if I love you, I will always be there for you. That’s me. And Badshah bhaiyya is that for me. So, I don’t know how other people are going about their life, what they think…apne ko koi matlab nahin (I could’t care less), I keep doing my work, I keep loving people. I keep being positive. That’s my aura. But it’s a good sign, jhagra toh sabka khatam ho, India aur world mein sab jhagra khatam ho, jhagra ho hi na life mein (fights should end everywhere, in people’s lives, in India and the world).

In your collaborations with Badshah, at any point, did you feel that you were being overshadowed?

No yaar, wherever I felt that my voice was sounding good or was complimenting…you won’t believe, I still get to hear this a lot that my voice and Badshah bhai’s voice compliment so much with each other that that’s why our songs become such big hits. See, if it’s a Badshah song, it is a Badshah song. You can’t really do anything about it because he’s the brain behind that song. The whole vision is his. So, it’s something that I can’t take away, no matter what I do. So, I just I appreciate that I’m part of that song and cherish everything that he’s given me. I told him the other day, ‘let’s do a song’. He said, pehle kar le yaar (first you make your song). Whatever we do is your bonus. So, don’t think of those songs as your songs. Whatever we’re doing together, that will be a bonus in life. I want to see who you are as an artist, so, you do you and this will keep happening.’

From Amar Singh Chamkila to Sidhu Moose Wala, among others, Punjabi male singers are gunned down or periodically receive threats from criminal gangs. Do Punjabi female singers also get threats? Have you received any?

No, never. That’s something that I’ve never experienced and I don’t want to experience. I hope not to get the evil eye (nazar).

Let’s talk about your favourite singers.

I will have to name a few then. Sunidhi (Chauhan) ma’am, as I have already named. Sonu Nigam sir, Arijit Singh, Vishal Mishra, I’m in love with Vishal Mishra’s voice, and Shreya Ghoshal ma’am…oh, my God, I met her once and I just couldn’t breathe. I was so awkward when I requested her if she could sing two lines from one of my favourite songs, Thode Badmash from Saawariya (2007). And I sang along with her.

So, what’s next?

I’m working on my next single and it’s going be out in a month. That’s what the plan is. I’m on my toes.

What about a Bollywood movie?

See, honestly, I don’t go chill with people just to get work. That’s not who I am. I feel that if any producer feels that my voice can fit a song and they call me, I will go work. But I, personally, don’t go socialise and make contacts like that to fetch work. Networking in a nice way is fine, but it shouldn’t be forced. I figured that a lot of people in Bombay are just hanging out for no reason. I can’t do that.

Of late, there is a lot of talk about women’s safety in films. What is the situation for female singers in the film industry?

I mean, honestly, I have never experienced something like that till now, and I hope I don’t ever. But I’ve heard a lot of things like how you have heard. But I personally haven’t experienced anything like that, probably because everyone in the industry knows that yeh toh Badshah ki behen hai (she’s Badshah’s soul sister). Bro-zoning is not always bad, guys (laughs).

Your song Balma (2022) was trolled as sounding similar to Honey Singh’s Saiyaan Ji (2021). Both are composed on Brazilian beats. How do you react to trolls?

The beat is called baile funk. And see, a lot of music can be compared to a lot of music. I love my sanity, I don’t pay attention to all of this (smiles). I feel, ki agar tumhe gaana pasand hai toh suno, agar nahin pasand hai toh mat suno (listen to the song if you like it, and if not, then don’t play it).

Why do popular singers now unlike before, in the film industry and outside, need Auto-Tune?

I have been asked this question a couple of times before, but I feel that Auto-Tune is not something that will…honestly, it’s very subjective, it depends from song to song. There is this song I worked on, called Hermosa, in that I was singing in my pitch but the demand of the vocal texture that the music producer wanted, the kind of sound and voice that he wanted me to sing in would only be achieved with software. So, there he used Auto-Tune and got that vocal texture. So, the usage of Auto-Tune is very subjective. Some people use it to tune their vocals. Some people used it to just get a texture…if used in the right amount, I feel Auto-Tune can be nice, but if you can’t sing only in the pitch, that’s a different story altogether.