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Bollywood singer Tulsi Kumar left the audience mesmerized by her melodious voice. The singer took her career a step further by collaborating with Ghanaian singer-songwriter KiDi aka Dennis Nana Dwamena. In an exclusive chat with SpotboyE, she talks about her experience working with him, shooting the song Shut Up in two days and her thoughts on composers who remake songs.
1. Your collaboration with KiDi is one of the biggest collaborations of the year. So how did this collaboration come about and what was your experience working with him?
Well, this collaboration started with talks between KiDi’s management and my management to bring the two artists together. And even before these talks started, I remember being entertained by his song Touch It, which went viral in India. But I didn’t know at the time that I had created a reel of this audio that was really hot on the reels last year.
Then it just so happened that KiDi management was eyeing equality here in India. And Bappa Lahiri who is a dear friend of mine suggested my name and they were willing to collaborate with me and so the talks started early this year. This is in January 2022.
And here we are in December after a whole year of talking about sorting the music to planning the shoot. Everything was done and we shot the video in December and released it now for you guys and it came out as a beautiful Indo Afro Fusion and it’s called Shut up. And yes, that’s how this collaboration actually transforms from talk to reality. And now it’s in front of you all. And I am very proud to say that this is my first international collaboration. Getting a lot of love and praise from all listeners and viewers watching it.
2. If you could share the idea behind making ‘Shut Up’ and your thought process behind giving the song an Indian touch?
The collaboration is a fusion of two different genres of music that are brought together and sound beautiful in this way. So Shut Up is Indu Afro Fusion and visually we wanted to create something very different that hasn’t been seen before, a version of it called Touch It was shot by KiDi in Ghana so there was already a version of it.
When we were making the Shut Up version that me and KiDi were a part of, we wanted to make it in India and bring Indian culture to a global platform. And so the whole idea of shooting in South India came from our director Adil Shaikh and I was very excited about that.
We all know that South India is very rich in their cultural values. So even through the song we have depicted different things that describe the culture of India, especially South India. There is a form of martial art that you will see which is Kaliripatu. Then you have the Katthakali dancers who are part of the music video, adding a lot of cultural richness that portrays India and adds a lot of colorful pop to the video.
We also shot on a houseboat, which is again a very beautiful view of India. So we shot it in Kerala, which is God’s own country. And the whole video turned out great. And the best part is that everyone really connected and appreciated how the richness of Indian culture reached a global platform through the music video of.
3. Tulsi, you and KiDi come from completely different cultures, so how did that help you incorporate your experiences into the song?
I think when you come from different cultures, when you come from different backgrounds in music, it all helps you create newness and novelty. But I think all musicians are bound by music, whether you’re from another country or wherever. Preferences may be different, but we’re all bound by one common interest, and that’s our love for music.
But having said that, I think KiDi had already added his afro touch to the song with the beats etc. We have merged it with Hindi lyrics which are written by Bhrigu Parashar and music is also composed by Tanishk Bagchi for silent version. I think it just brings novelty when two artists from different cultures collaborate.
And since it’s my first time, I really enjoyed it. And getting to know KiDi through this song and his music preferences. We discussed a lot of music, we discussed food, and we discussed a lot of things. So it’s always good to know different artists and the way they think and what kind of thing fuels their creative process. So a lot of similarities and a lot of conversations happened, which is reflected in our music video as well as chemistry.
4. The song was shot in just 2 days without much preparation time, so how did you and KiDi go about making ‘Shut Up’ a huge hit with fans.
We have been working on the audio for a long time, so we had the audio ready, but in terms of the video, I think it was a very quick preparation because KiDi had a few dates to work, come to India and when I had a few dates in the same period from time. That way we were able to do it very quickly.
We quickly learned the hook step, which is very easy. And during the video we were in different places doing the hook step and just having fun with the music and absolutely enjoying the song. I have to give credit to the whole team who shot the music video in two days because we took out three to four really big locations, for some locations we had to really walk all the way to the waterfall and then there was this houseboat, so shooting it from another houseboat, coordinating everything. I think Adil Shaikh, who is the director, and his entire team did the shoot and we, myself and KiD as artists, gave our 200% of everything needed. So we shot for about, you know, a good two days in Kerala and here it’s closed to all of you.
5. Tulsi, these days we see a lot of old songs being remade. While very few manage to do justice, others fail to strike a chord with the audience. So what’s your personal opinion on iconic songs being remade?
My personal opinion is that a song is recreated or remade, of course it’s an iconic song so you can’t afford to go wrong with it. You should handle it with care. And you know, it has to be done very tastefully because the audience has their feelings about the iconic song being recreated. So a lot of times comparisons are made, a lot of similarities, comparisons, what’s better in the earlier version, so all of that happens. But I think having said that, if it’s done tastefully and handled with care, there are few entertainments that have also done well, like I’ve personally been in Soch Na Sake, Saki Saki which got a great response from the audience. But having said that, again, it’s a very personal choice. Some people love a break, other people stick to their previous versions they’ve heard over and over for years. So it’s a very personal choice. Very subjective from person to person.
6. You had recently performed at the Falcon Festival in Assam, tell us about your experience and how was it being the only female performer there?
It was an amazing experience to perform at the Falcon Festival, which is one of the biggest festivals in the North East. And being the only female performer there brought me a lot of fame and pride. Me and my entire team gave 200% because there was a huge audience that was there to give us their love and support. And like I said, the Northeast audience is also musically very, very loud. So it’s great to play in front of an audience that has so much love and passion for music. I had a great time, of course, it’s a three hour flight from Bombay to Guwahati and then we traveled six and a half hours to get to Umrangso, which is a couple of hours away from Guwahati. But I think the whole journey, it was all worth it because of the reaction and love we got from the audience at Falcon Festival. So an amazing experience and I would love to go back there again soon.
Released on December 20, Tulsi Kumar and KiDi’s Shut Up is a perfect blend of cultures.
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