Melody lover

With a dream of becoming a Bollywood singer, Payal Dev started her musical journey learning from her mother. Determined to fulfil her dream she spent her spare time listening to legendary singers — Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, intently observing their emotions and pronunciation while tending to the craft.  

Though not confident back then, Dev honed her skills by performing at small gatherings until one day, when she sang for 2013 film Mai that marked the debut of veteran singer Asha Bhosle as a lead actress. There was no looking back for the singer-composer since then, who not only sang but went to compose hit melodies in Bollywood.

Be it the romantic number Ab Tohe Jane Na Doongi from Bajirao Mastani, Haseeno Ka Deewana from Kaabil, O Saathi from Baaghi 2, or party numbers like Veere from Veere Di Wedding and the Jawaani Song from Student of the Year 2, Dev has dabbled in different genres — something that she doesn’t find tough, but believes can be achieved with practice.

“One has to pay attention to the lyrics. If it is a dance number then I will raise my energy, depending on what the song demands. Also, a lot of attention is to be paid on the music composer’s vision, as they guide us on the feel of the song,” says Dev adding, “I feel every singer should try singing different genres, many singers don’t try that. It’s good to explore your singing range.” Amidst the variety, her personal favourites are dance numbers as they come to her with ease. Moreover, her fans love her party songs more than the soft numbers.

Challenging her own track record was Yun Karke from Salman Khan’s upcoming film Dabangg 3, for which the actor has lent his voice. Dev shares that the jugalbandi with Salman was a dream come true and the song is special. The singer reveals that the Kick actor not only loves singing but is passionate about it too. “I have sung many songs for Sajid-Wajid but those were solo numbers. And I have met Salman so many times; he is a great human who takes his work very seriously.”

Another song that is a rage on the Internet, not because of her vocals but her composition, is Tum Hi Aana from the Sidharth Malhotra-Tara Sutaria starrer Marjaavaan. The musician says she realised her talent for music composition just two years ago. “I tried composing a few tunes that turned out well,” shares Dev.

The artiste reveals that the composition came to her a couple of years back and immediately recorded it on her phone. Then in one of her jam sessions with singer Jubin Nautiyal, lyricist Kunaal Vermaa and composer Aditya Dev, the song was born.

“While working on another single, I showed them the recording. Instantly, Kunaal wrote down some lines and that is how the song happened. Jubin loved it so much that he decided to record the song,” smiles Dev, who also composed  Dil Jaaniye from Khandaani Shafakhana.

While the singer-composer loves both the roles equally, she prefers when others sing her compositions. “However, if at times I feel that a particular song suits my voice then I sing it,” she adds saying that she wishes to work with Pritam Da.

“Both, Sajid-Wajid and Vishal-Shekhar have a great sense of music and give their singers good amount of guidance. Because of their cool nature, they make every singer comfortable while singing. With Pritam Da, his songs are magical and they are my personal favourite. So I am looking forward to working with him,” she smiles.

As for her future plans, Dev has a few projects in movies and singles in the pipeline but will talk about them only when things have materialised.