I always love discovering new musical talent, which is why Shalmali Kholgade recently caught my eye (and ear!). She’s only 22 and has just stepped into Bollywood, but she’s already got a hat trick of hit songs to her name – Pareshaan and Daaru Desi became wildly popular when first released, and now Aga Bai from Aiyyaa is steadily climbing up the charts.
Pssst Shalmali is also the voice behind three songs in Peddlers (which went to Cannes this year), and is also a vocalist with The Bartender. She recently performed at Amitabh Bachchan‘s 70th birthday bash, and we hear that she’s got a string of new songs lined up for next year. I’m really interested to see what’s next for her – Pareshaan, Daaru Desi and Aga Bai are all very different songs, so I can’t wait to see what she comes up with now.
Also, here’s a cute story: on a recent episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati, Big B asked a contestant which movie the song Pareshaan was from. When the contestant answered correctly (Ishaqzaade), AB added: “It was sung by Shalmali Kholgade.” We hear that Shalmali was bombarded with calls afterwards, letting her know that she was on a KBC question! *lol* Too cute!