Veejay Anusha Dandekar has formed an all-girl pop band with her sisters to fill in the newfound international hunger for desi sounds
Veejay Anusha Dandekar has formed an all-girl pop band with her sisters to fill in the newfound international hunger for desi soundsu00a0
After tearing up the stage on the Shah Rukh Khan world tour and Shilpa Shetty's musical Miss Bollywood, tireless MTV veejay Anusha Dandekar has another songu00a0- rather, songsu00a0- up her slim sleeve. She has formed an Australian-raised sister-act called D Major that croons and grooves like a desi Destiny's Child.u00a0
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Shibani(from left), Anusha and Apeksha get ready to rock it |
"I've wanted to form a band since I was 14 years old. I used to sing in high school and my younger sister Apeksha is classically trained," says Anusha.
Apeksha is the baby of the group. "But don't be fooled. Behind her mischievous smile lays a tough persona and one serious set of pipes," warns Anusha. Before graduation, Apeksha recorded her solo Hindi album Ikraar with composer Biddu. She featured on Joi's album Without Zero in 2007, performed on BBC TV show Let Me Entertain You and on the soundtrack for ITV series, My Life As A Popat.u00a0
The big sister of the group, Shibani relocated to New York where she hosted three nationally syndicated TV showsu00a0- Namaste America, V Desi & AVS (Asian Variety Show), modelled for GQ magazine and worked behind the scenes on album cover shoots for Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas and Britney Spears.
During one of their frequent catch-ups, the Maharashtrian girls who grew up in Australia, began writing lyrics and melodies together. They took to the recording studio to start mapping out their ideas, with the help of music producers Tigerstyle and Dboy.
Sexed-up R&B, Hip-Hop and pop characterise tracks like Cheatin', Lean, Badboy and Still Ya Girl on their debut album, which will be out in stores soon. Unlike previous all-girl groups, this trio has written, recorded and sung the tracks, and has a strong sense of music and style. If the enthusiastic response from their live performances at Kuwait and Bangkok is anything to go by, they will be survivors too. Besides, they are cashing in on the flavour of the season. Apeksha says: "India's pretty cool right now, so we're making the most of that".
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