Rashi Mal studied to be an IT engineer, but became an actor, singer-songwriter, and dancer. The 27-year-old is now out with a bilingual song – her first release –that she has written, composed and sung. The Hindi version, Misaal, was released on June 11 and its upbeat English version, Paradigm, will be launched on June 25.
“Misaal was written two years ago when I was going through a major existential crisis. When the lockdown happened, I saw a lot of people go through what I had gone through, which is why I felt this is the right time to put it out,” says Mal, who was born and bred in Delhi and Mumbai. But the lyrics that are contemplative, and comment on the pointlessness of all the daily struggles we put ourselves through, do not reek of sadness. “I want my music to be happy, uplifting. This is why I have used classical Jazz guitar and ghungroos,” she adds.Both the songs will be available on 240 audio stores worldwide and on major streaming platforms Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, while the video will be released on her Youtube channel (Rashi Mal).
“I was always creatively inclined. I studied engineering because I was good at programming. Honestly speaking, at that time, I did not know being an artiste was an option too. No one in my family had ever been in the performing arts,” Mal says, despite adding that music was the first art form she was introduced to as a kid. “I grew up on Bollywood music. I used to take part in all national-level singing competitions in school, but with studies all that took a backseat,”she says.
But she quickly changed the course of her life from engineering when she realised music was her true calling. Mal then learnt Western Classical singing from California-based opera singer and voice coach, Deirdre Lobo D’cunha, and studied song writing from Berklee College of Music. “Now, I am training under Samantha Edwards,” she adds.
In addition to singing (and rapping) for films like Dear Maya, Rashi has sung ad jingles and was part of the musical parody band, Sacchi Savitris, with singer Vasuda Sharma, for which she wrote and sang.
Interestingly, Mal is not just a singer and song-writer. She is also an actor and a dancer. “I trained in method acting with the Jeff Goldberg Studio, though my training started long before that, on stage with theatre workshops and plays. I have worked with renowned theatre directors such as Makrand Deshpande, Hidayat Sami, Suil Shanbag and Divya Palat among others.
As a dancer, Mal loves performing to Latin dance genres – Salsa, Bachata and Merengue, and received training under several teachers. She also did a stint with Ashley Lobo’s dance company, The Danceworx, as a performer, teacher and choreographer.
Rapid Fire
Fave-thing-to-do?
Making music. But each creative art holds a special place in my life. Acting is my Love, Dance is my Happy Place and Music is the Soul food.
What next?
Films Brahmastra and Kaavya. Waiting for work to resume on both.
Other love/s?
Travel and reading. I have travelled to 34 countries so far and counting. I also love to read anything and everything, from fiction to psychology to history.