Interview: 'Whatever I am today is because of Amit Trivedi,' says Divya Kumar

Bollywood playback singer Divya Kumar is on a roll this year. After collaborating with Farhan Akhtar, Vishal Dadlani and Alyssa Mendosa for the soulful "Phir Bhi Yeh Zindagi" from "Dil Dhadakne Do" last year, the singer is back with another soulful collaboration this year. "Rootha" from the recently-released thriller "Te3n" sees Kumar collaborating with Benny Dayal and Bianca Gomes.

Composed by Clinton Cerejo, "Rootha" is a rock music-influenced soulful number that keeps its Bollywood roots intact. Talking about the track in an exclusive interview with International Business Times India, Kumar said: "It was a very unusual song for me to sing as it is greatly influenced by western music. I had never sung something like this in my entire career and so, I was very nervous about it initially. But in the end everything went well and it was a great learning experience for me."

Apart from "Rootha," this year we saw the singer belting out songs such as "Pyar Ki" from "Housefull 3" and "Binu Badaar" from "Jai Gangajaal," both of which were fast-paced tracks. In fact, Kumar has sung more upbeat numbers than soulful ones in his career. "Initially when I started, I was afraid that I would be typecast as a party anthem singer. But thankfully, the past few years have proved that I am not just that," said Kumar. "I want to try out every genre and get out of my comfort zone as much as I can. So, I would love to sing more soulful songs in the future and explore different sides of me," he added.

Kumar is a part of Bollywood composer Amit Trivedi's live band, which is now touring the country. Incidentally, it was Trivedi who gave Kumar his first big break in playback singing with "Aafaton Ke Parindey" from the film "Ishagzaade." Since then the singer has worked in five of Trivedi's film soundtracks, the most recent one being last year's "Shaandaar." Kumar said that he has been a fan of Trivedi's music right from the time "Dev D" came out in 2009. "It was an amazing soundtrack. 'Pardesi' is still one of my favourite songs of all time. So, when I met him for the first time for the soundtrack of 'Ishaqzaade,' I ended up acting like a fanboy. Whatever I am today is because of him," said Kumar, who states the music of Jatin-Lalit and 90s' indie pop to be his biggest musical influences while growing up.