Govinda’s mom inspires Manasi Parekh`s debut song!

Mumbai: Television actress Manasi Parekh will launch her first music single Friday. She says the thumri, called ‘Saawariya’, was originally sung by Govinda`s mother.

"This is a beautiful thumri, which has been with me for a while. It has been our baby. We have changed it, but the inspiration is from Nirmala Deviji (Govinda’s mother) and Lakshmi Shankar," she told IANS. She further added: "We recorded it with brilliant musicians. It is a classical thumri and we infused it with electronica. The video is experimental and it has been a lot of fun." Seen in shows like ‘Gulaal’ and ‘India Calling’, the actress, who has produced the song, said that it was a daunting task. "It`s been challenging. An artist is usually called on the set when everything is ready... when the cameraman and lighting is in place. But for the video, which I produced with my friend (singer) Jahnvi Srimankar, we did everything on our own," she said. Independent music has a lot of avenues in the country, she feels. "I think there is an expanding market for independent music as a lot of avenues like the NH7 Weekender are there now. Even MTV has a show called ‘MTV Roots’ that supports independent music. I always wanted to show my work on the show and tomorrow (Friday) our video is premiering on the show. That is great for us," she said. Praising independent music culture, Manasi said that it gives artists space to explore and experiment. "Independent music is in your control and you can do whatever you want to. That freedom is very important for an artist," said the actress who plans to make more singles along with Jahnvi. "This is the first in the series of the singles, which we are planning. The second song will be very different. It will be experimental. We have started working on it already," she said. Manasi was last seen on TV anchoring ‘Hindustan Ke Hunarbaaz’. IANS