His latest song 'Character Dheela Hai' has become an anthem. But there's nothing dheela about singer-composer Neeraj Shridhar. u00a0 The singer who created a buzz with his band Bombay Vikings five years ago, has been equally successful in his transition as a playback singer with hits like Bhool Bhulaiya, Aai Paapi, Chor Bazaari, Tum Mile and Prem Ki Naiyaa in his kitty. <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2011/may/Neeraj.jpg" border="5" /> u00a0 "The idea is to make your music as cool as possible," says Neeraj as he talks to CS about his idea of music: Getting into the character When I went to Pritam's (music composer) place for the first time to hear the song, the people there were discussing the title of the song, Character Dheela Hai. Now, I have spent the greater part of my life in Stockholm, Sweden so I am pretty unfamiliar with Mumbai's slang. I thought that Character Dheela Hai meant something raunchy and I hoped they weren't saying that about me (laughs). When I sung the song for the first time, it fell flat, but when it was picturised on Salman, it created a dhamaal and turned out to be the hit that it is. I recently went to a nightclub where the song was played thrice on popular demand, so I am quite thrilled about it.u00a0 Playing back to back I was very proud of the kind of music my band Bombay Vikings did. I can say that I created a new sound with songs like Woh Chaali, Chod Do Aanchal and Hawa Mein Udti Jayee. But playback is a different ball game altogether. I must give credit to Pritam as he makes me experiment all the time. After the title track of Bhool Bhulaiya, he has given me a variety of songs. With him I have done Tum Mile, a romantic song to a tapori style Prem Ki Naiyaa. As a singer, I think my understanding of music and music production gives me an edge. I am a musician first and a singer later. Initially, people thought I was better with western songs but now they have different kinds of songs for me (smiles).u00a0 Band baj gaya Till 2004, we saw albums from bands and independent musicians doing well, perhaps better than film albums. But when music composers started incorporating new sounds in their tracks, they got better than them. I feel that independent musicians need to be more flexible. I see so many talented musicians all over India, but they are not willing to experiment with their music. If someone plays heavy metal then it's only heavy metal for them. Your music should be appealing to everyone, that's when you'll be successful. And of course, you need your stamp of individuality. The days of cloning are over.

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His latest song 'Character Dheela Hai' has become an anthem. But there's nothing dheela about singer-composer Neeraj Shridhar.

Dheela's the new Sheila

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Dheela's the new Sheila

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