Looking forward to meaty roles in Bollywood: Usha Uthup

New Delhi: She took the audience by surprise appearing in ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’ and singer Usha Uthup says she is looking forward to some meaty roles in Bollywood now.

The 64-year-old singer played a loyal help to Priyanka Chopra`s character in the film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. She even lent her voice to the hit song ‘Darling’ in the film. "I am waiting for good roles, looking for something meaty. In the meantime I have done a bit of acting in Kerala and Bengal. I hope I get some offers in Bollywood, another good role like I did in `Saat Khoon Maaf`," Usha said. She is nominated in the best playback singer category alongwith Rekha Bhardwaj for the track "Darling" at the upcoming IIFA awards. The song has already got her a Filmfare award this year. "I hope I win the IIFA award too," said Usha. Besides being nominated, the singer is going to perform at the IIFA Rocks in Singapore on June 8, the night before the awards ceremony. She will be performing in collaboration with Leslie Lewis and Hariharan to mark 100 years of Indian Cinema. "The combination of me, Hariharan and Leslie Lewis is amazing. Who would imagine the three of us teaming up? Our performance is a tribute to 100 years of Indian Cinema. It`s been a real tough call shortlisting songs from so many decades and from among hundreds of hit tracks," she said. This is the first time she would be collaborating professionally with Lewis and Hariharan. Usha says she is looking forward to the performance as they have been friends for years. "It is really amazing because we have all been great friends for so long. I have had various opportunities to jam with Leslie when he used to perform at the Oberois in Mumbai. Once in a while he used to bring his guitar along and we would jam together. He is an amazing musician. We`ve never done anything together professionally. This collaboration is something I am really looking forward to," she said. She has been enthralling listeners for over 40 years now with hit Bollywood tracks like `Hare Rama Hare Krishna`, `Ek Do Cha Cha Cha` and `Ramba Ho`. She recently sung for ‘Kahaani’ and ‘Don 2’ besides ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’. Usha says her singing career is the most happening right now. "I have been working since 1968, its been over 40 years now. People ask me, `What? You are still singing?` "But it’s not `still`, it`s only now that I have really started singing, now that things are really happening. It`s just fantastic. I couldn`t have asked for anything better. "I get very excited when people are shocked by my energy and my passion for work. I know that I am quite an inspiration for the younger generation. They work so hard and I do believe I am a source of inspiration for them as they think, `If she can do it at that age, we can do too`." Usha says she is busy travelling and performing stage shows besides appearing in reality shows. "I am busy with a lot of shoots, reality shows. My basic thing is the stage, I keep performing. Between travelling, trying to take a nap on the flight and working on the shows, it`s just an amazing life. I couldn`t ask for anything more. Life is really on a high right now," she said. PTI