Bollywood’s Sufi girl

By Shridevi Keshavan - Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai,India
Monday, September 25, 2006

The voice that immaculately oscillates Bipasha Basu’s sensuous moves in the track ‘Namak Ishq Ka’ from ‘Omkara’ is rendered by none other than Rekha Bhardwaj. While her husband Vishal is at the peak of his career, Rekha believes that her career has just picked up commercially. “Gulzarsaab told me I’m a discovery of ‘Omkara’,” she laughs.

She’s also collaborating with lyricist Gulzar and husband Vishal for her next album. “It’s on the same lines as my previous album, ‘Ishqa Ishqa’. In this album we’ll be using a lot of traditional poetry like the works of the Sufi poet Bulle Shah,” she says. The album’s been on her mind for a while but is materialising just now. “Gulzarsaab and Vishal got busy with their work and my album took a backseat. All three of us went through a journey and the album is an expression of our lives,” says Rekha, who also wants to try her hand at composing.

Born into a musical family, Rekha took lessons in Hindustani classical music and went on to become popular in college as a singer. “I was quite a star in college because of my singing talent and it’s how I met Vishal. He used to compose even then and had to really struggle.”

So, how is it working with her hubby? “He’s very strict with me because he knows my potential. I have learnt to keep my moods aside while working,” she says.

Sufism had a strong influence on Rekha after she did a course at the Osho commune in Pune. “It was a great experience... through that I learnt to accept myself.”