Singer Monali Thakur is no longer an anjaani. Her chart-topping 'Zara Zara Touch Me' from Race and the latest peppy 'Anjaana Anjaani' has made sure of that. An ex-Indian Idol contestant, Monali is a prime example of how elimination from a reality show is not the end of the world. This 25-year-old talks to CS about her first taste of success and the contests that really count: <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2010/sep/Monali.jpg" border="5" /> PIC/ RANE ASHISH Reality check My dad, Shakti Thakur was a singer and actor for Bengali films. He also worked a bit with composers like RD Burman and Laxmikant Pyarelal but he was based in West Bengal. So, when I decided to get into playback singing, entering a musical reality show seemed like a good platform. Though I made it into the top ten finalists, I was ousted quite early. I was disappointed, but I wasn't heartbroken as I am not very competitive by nature (laughs). And it gave me the scope to struggle. Thereafter, I started doing shows across Mumbai and India. The money helped me survive in Mumbai. I spent the rest of the time looking for playback opportunities. A dream fulfilled This is my first song with Vishal- Shekhar. In fact, when I met Vishal (Dadlani) for the first time, I told him that he has to listen to my voice someday (laughs). So, one day he called me to his studio, where I sang Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love for him. I was thrilled, when he said, "You made my day." However, it took quite a while before the Anjaana Anjaani title song happened. They had almost finished working on this film, but there was this last minute addition of a club number. That's when I got a call to sing this track.u00a0 Mentor magic During the course of a reality show, many composers promise to give you work but chances don't come that easily. Moreover, though I am a classical singer I didn't have any training in playback singing. Whatever I have learnt is by observing other singers in recording studios. I remember Anu Malik promising me a song on the show. It was very sweet of him when he asked me to sing a few lines for the film Jaan-E-Mann. Gulzarsaab was also present during the recording. On hearing me, he nodded his head in approval. That single nod meant the world to me. Pritam is another person whom I look upto. I recorded a jingle with him, and then he gave me the chance to sing for Race. I used to spend hours at his studio learning about recording. All in the family My grandfather Bhaktiranjan Ray was a classical singer. I got my early training from my dad and guru, Pandit Jagdish Prasad. My elder sister Mehuli is also a playback singer. My favourite singersu00a0 are Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsale, Ustad Rashid Khan, Richa Sharma, Sukhwinder Singh, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and many more.

Art that is simply terror-fic 

Singer Monali Thakur is no longer an anjaani.

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