With an electrifying voice, she sets the stage on fire. With the same energy, Shibani Kashyap is all set to make the Hyderabadi audience dance to her tunes today in the city.
The ‘Sajna Aaa Bhi Ja’ fame singer’s inclination for Sufi music helps her connect to god.
“It is the kind of song that gives me freedom to sing in the way I want to. It comes to me naturally. I don’t have to put in a lot of effort for it,” says the 35-year-old.
The Sufi music she heard at Ajmer Sharif, at garbas and a few Qawwali concerts she listened to, has made her pursue the genre. Abida Parveen, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Rabbi Shergill are the ones she looks up to in the genre. “Rabbi’s song ‘Bulla Ki Jaana’ takes her to a devotional world she says.
“Every singer has their own style of singing and Sufi is my style. Unlike the lyrics of the other music genres that are meant to attract people, I like Sufi because it gives me an opportunity to connect to music. The words are pure,” she says.
Jazz is another kind of music she enjoys. She and Rabbi will soon be coming up with an independent song which will be mix of Jazz and Sufi.” I will be singing Sufi while he will be singing Jazz. The song will release this year end,” says Shibani who has also tried her hand at acting. She played the role of Megha in Ek Veer Ki Ardaas...Veera, a daily television show on Star Plus. She is happy that this brief stint in the serial gave her exposure to acting. “I enjoyed every bit of it. It was completely unplanned,” she says, adding that any performer can be a good actor. “It is just the matter of being expressive which comes naturally to any performer.” She however refused to comment on her upcoming movies ‘Main Osama’ directed by Faisal Saif which has been put on hold.
The singer and actor has also has an association with Bharatiya Janta Party in which she enrolled in July 2014. She says, “I am there for a social cause which is women empowerment. Whenever I have free time, I make sure I do something for them.” She advises BJP to take their failure as a lesson and work on their mistakes. Like every singer whose daily regime starts with riyaz, her day starts with yoga and singing. “As one can not teach themselves, I sing with along with my guruji. He guides me and blesses me. When I am out of station, I use an app which helps me practice,” she says.