VJ, playback singer, reality show maven (‘Khatron ke Khiladi’) and now host of Pulsar MTV Stunt Mania - Anushka Manchanda is certainly not one to sit idle. Introduced to the public as a member of the girl band, Viva!, Manchanda’s songs for the Hindi film Aisha are currently getting a lot of airplay. Just back from the Stunt Mania shoot in Manali, which involved a 220-odd crew, the 25-year-old comes clean on her stint with motorbikes, bungee jumping and her band.
From Viva! to Shkabang
Music will always be the most important thing in my life. I do shows because they excite me, not for the money. My band is called ‘Shkabang’ and we play electronic music. There are no plans for Viva! to ever get back together. That was a lesson learnt for all of us. You should only be part of a group where all of you want to play the same music.
Life on Stunt Mania
I won ‘Fear Factor’ last year and this seemed like a really good idea. I always considered myself to be a beach person but now I have fallen in love with the mountains. This season, the show is bigger and the contestants have attempted more dangerous stunts.
The boys’ club
Much of the crew comprised of men but I had a lot of fun as I am more comfortable around men than I am with women. I was just myself throughout the whole shoot.
Adrenaline junkie
I get a high from doing adventurous sports but I would never put myself in danger. I have gone river rafting, para gliding and bungee jumping. Last year, I learned to ride a bike. I have bought myself an Enfield only recently (I haven’t seen it yet).
Lost in translation
While still a VJ, I decided I wanted to seriously pursue playback singing. The industry is competitive and if you are not focused then you have 30 people standing in line to take your place. I started singing for Tamil films and Bollywood. Singing songs in another language was not hard because I learnt everything phonetically. But the emotion might get lost when you don’t understand the meaning.