I'm not pursuing acting, says Shibani Kashyap

Shibani's clearly loving the part about the newly-wedded bride bit and the traditional chooda on her hands is proof of that. "It looks so pretty and dresses me up. I'm a newly wedded bride, so I want to celebrate that," says Shibani with a smile. The singer speaks to CS about her marriage, acting debut and musical aspirations:

Who: Shibani Kashyap
What: On marriage and acting
Pic/Satyajit Desai

A blessing in disguise
It's a huge help that my husband is from the same profession. I don't need to sit down and give explanations as to why I have to go for a late night event or why I might not be back till the wee hours of morning. So those things are a huge boon. I worked so hard for my career, that for me to give that up would be impossible. It has to be with someone who understands my passions and my dreams.

Music is priority
I'm not pursuing acting; it's not my profession. The film is a nice one-off and I enjoyed shooting for it. I'm not competing or contending to be an actor. I'm not here to prove myself. And that's the reason, according to my director, that the acting has come out very normal and relaxed. I'm playing the negative female lead and had to learn a bit of martial arts, which was really interesting. The whole look is very femme fatale, aggressive and action-oriented. It was not difficult for me, as I have been anchoring shows and have done music videos. This was another kind of performing for me. If something like this or something different comes my way, then I will not say no, but I'm not here to be an actor.

Song is the star
There has been an absolute sea change in the way the music industry functions now. Today, it is not really the voice but the song which is the star. Earlier, people used to design songs keeping a singer in mind. The sound has assumed huge importance now. I think the artist needs to be kept alive in us. I do a lot of shows and the crowd does recognise me. I made it a point that I was featured in every music video of mine. Also, one should keep recording singles. I recently did a song with Mika and we're going to go all out with it. I think the collaboration will create a buzz. These kind of things should keep happening. Artists should keep collaborating with each other and keep coming out with singles. The presence of an artist is very important these days because you have to cut across the crowd. u00a0