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EXCLUSIVE: Neha Bhasin on her singing journey, VIVA days and more: It was tough but fulfilling and wholesome
Neha Bhasin, who rose to fame with her band Viva, is currently seen heading Delhi Jammers in Indian Pro Music League and is quite grateful for her journey so far.
If you are a 2000 kid, VIVA will be an integral part of your childhood. It was a first all girls, pop band which went on to win millions of hearts with their panache and soulful voice. The band was an instant hit among the youth and soon became a household name. However, the band was dissolved later and all the five singers went their respective ways. Amid the five of them, Neha Bhasin has managed to successfully carve a niche for herself and has come a long way in her career so far.
In an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, Neha opened up on her journey and said, “I see my journey as very wholesome, tough but fulfilling. I see my journey of a 9 year old who wanted to grow up to be a pop star, who wanted to be an international global star and had to make a name for herself in an industry she didn’t understand like the film industry. It’s a very topsy-turvy kind of a journey but I am not complaining. I am at a happy place today. In my artistry, I am at a very prime spot right now and very fulfilling the kind of work that I am doing and I am still itching to do more. So that’s how I see my journey of 9 year old seeing a dream and now living that dream. I am very happy that I was able to do the whole pop stardom thing, do the playback singing and then come back to doing the independent and pop music, doing folk music. So just the whole experimental bit and yet making a name for myself as an individual without a godfather in the industry.”
Furthermore, Neha also opened up about being a part of India’s first all girls pop band and stated that it was a dream come true moment for her back then. “Viva was formed in 2002. It was a really really long time ago. I was still a teenager at that point and it was definitely a wonderful platform and a dream come true for me at that point. So the first three months were like a fairy tale. Of course a hard working fairy tale but a fairy tale. And after that things went dwindling down a bit with us not having a very concrete management and guidance. But nevertheless, I still have very beautiful memories of the first 3 months of Viva, the concert, us making the album, travelling and all that. I think it was the first and the only girl band that made to the top and they are still etched in people’s memories in India. I wish we could have more bands in India,” she added.
While she recalled her journey with Viva, Neha had also opened up about being fat shamed during her days with the band. Talking about the same, she said, “The comparisons of body types and fat shaming started in my life when I entered the group Viva and I wasn’t the only one. We were all subjected to it which we spoke about recently, which we didn’t know the after-effects of that so I struggled a lot with bullying for those 2 years and after that also for a few years and having very weak digestion for many years because of that. Also suffered from image dysmorphia wherein I just didn’t think of myself the way maybe people thought of me because my body became such a big deal for me. It would also be a topic of discussion amidst people and family members and fans and people in the industry. I often felt targeted because of my body in different ways and different layers. We were starved and we were just made to feel that we were inadequate because of our bodies and that’s a very young age for it to be engrained because of which in the past I have been very vocal about self love and body image and body positivity even before these became hashtags. I was posting untouched bikini pictures of mine 6-7 years ago on my Instagram even when I wasn’t in my prime shape. I just wanted to free myself from the kind of burden that my body was carrying & the kind of shame that I was carrying and the kind of inadequacy that I constantly felt because of my body. So, it was a very love-hate kind of a relationship. I had to go through therapy in 2012 and yet it took me a really long time and I have also been subjected to a lot of slut-shaming, a lot of targeting, being called bold and being called sexy at a time when probably I wasn’t ready to be called sexy.”
Interestingly, there have been speculations about Viva reunion over the years. However, Neha rubbished the news and stated that it won’t happen. She said, “I know that we have massive fans from the early 2000 and they always wish for Viva to come back but I doubt it’s going to happen. I hope that may be I can bring the girls on my independent music at some time just as a fun collaboration. But other than that I don’t really see us coming back together.”
As of now, Neha is seen in the Indian Pro Music League wherein she is heading the Delhi Jammers and the lady is quite elated to be a part of the league. She said, “I am born to be a performer, I am born to be on stage and this shows gives me the platform to do exactly that. So for me, it’s a happy place. So I am very happy to be a part of the Indian Pro Music League and to bring forth the performer in me, the dancer in me, the folk music and the whole…. How you see the international artist bring the performance…. Lights, camera action, LED together.. that’s what I am doing on the show. So, finally I feel like India will get to see what Neha Bhasin is all about.” Interestingly, Shraddha Kapoor has been the brand ambassador of Delhi Jammers and Neha is all praises for the actress.
In fact, the renowned singer is quite hopeful about winning the league. Neha stated, “I think we have a massive chance because I feel we have a very diverse team and there are things that we can do on a performance level and on a singing level that I feel other teams cannot do. We bring the swag, we bring the cool factor and we bring the music to the stage. But every team has somebody who, when we are doing an inning against them, the strategy is to bring your best foot forward and do what they cannot do. For example, there is no one in Indian Pro Music League that can dance and sing live or can do Punjabi folk music the way I do. Ankush is a very versatile singer. He can do from ballads to he is very good at singing sargam and shabad-alap, Priyanshi has a very unique voice like Shreya Ghoshal. Then we have Shabab who is from the Sabri gharana and he sings qawwalis and Sufis really well. Then we have Sajid who is an ace music director. So, we just bring out best foot forward every time and attack them with sur.”
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