Mika Singh takes a trip down memory lane and recalls his early days in the music industry. He spoke about his success in Punjabi music and the financial support it gave him before entering Bollywood.
Speaking to Kapil Sibal on his YouTube channel, Mika said that his career changed after that. A fire broke out in the sauna. became a hit. The song gave him widespread recognition and more opportunities to perform in live shows.
After the success of the song, Mika said that he started earning Rs 10,000 per show. Before establishing himself as an independent singer, he performed with his elder brother Daler Mehndi’s troupe, where he earned Rs 500 per show.
Mika said, “I wanted to be a music director, but my song was a superhit, even though I didn’t sing well. I wrote the song myself.”
When Mika started looking for opportunities in Bollywood in 2006, she noticed that many aspiring singers were trying to work with leading musicians like Anu Malik and AR Rahman. Instead of following the same path, Mika decided to take a different path to establish herself in the Hindi film industry.
He said, “No one was paying attention to the show Indian Idol Trying to get a chance with music directors and would struggle for years. My goal was to do as many shows as possible.”
Mika recalled that singer Shaan had once advised her not to be shy when meeting producers and music composers. Hummer was the luxury car Mika was driving at the time. According to Mika, Shaan felt that getting into an expensive vehicle might make industry professionals think that she is already good and doesn’t need work.
Mika said, “When I would drive in my Hummer, people would say you won’t get a song like that. They told me you should travel in an auto because a music director might be offended if you’re very successful and have a big car. Shaun told me the same thing, ‘Go in an auto. The producer shouldn’t give the impression that you’re rich. They should feel you need work.’ I said I won’t do that. I will drive in my Hummer. “Someone will find me.”
“My plan was, I’d drive around in my Hummer, they’d get the impression he was a big singer, even though I wasn’t,” he added.
Mika then recalls her first meeting with Pritam. The meeting began with some confusion. Mika said that he did not know what Pritam looked like and, after listening to several of his Hindi film songs with Punjabi influences, assumed that the composer was a Sikh man named Pritam Singh.
During a meeting with Pritam, the musician asked Mika to come back the next day to record the song. Mika, however, deliberately rejected the offer immediately. He said he didn’t want to appear too eager or give the impression that he had nothing else to do.
Mika said, “He asked me to meet him the next day to record a song. I thought that if I tell him the next day that I am free, he will think that I have nothing to do. I told him that I am busy, so he asked me to come the next day. I said yes and that’s how I got ‘Dil Mein Baaji Guitar’.”
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