Nargis represents that Eastmeets-West swag: Parichay

Indo-Canadian composer and singer, Parichay (right), cites the North American connect as reason for collaborating with actor Nargis Fakhri (above) for his latest single — Habitaan Vigaad Di, which also features Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall. Shot in Toronto, the music video features Nargis as a fantasy chick. On why Nargis was the best choice for this song, Parichay says, “This song has an international sound with a sensual vibe. I knew we had to get Nargis to feature in it — she’s hot and represents that East-meets-West swag. I wanted to make this a mainstream Bollywood/ Punjabi collaboration and knowing she is from NYC, I thought she would fit in well, as Kardinal and I are from Toronto, so we all have that North American connection.”

Asked how he managed to get her dialect right, since Nargis is not well-versed with Punjabi and Hindi, Parichay shares, “Actually she made my life easier just by wanting to get it right. We kept dubbing her part until she nailed the lead-vocals and harmonies. She’s singing a catchy part of the hook section, which is in Hindi and Punjabi — she sounds great,” says the singer.

There were reports that Nargis took as many as 100 takes to get her pronunciation right. Nargis, however, refutes the reports. “I think 100 is an exaggerated figure but I did take a lot of takes. First of all, I’m not a trained singer. Secondly, I don’t know Punjabi. So I took a chance and it was great,” she says.

“But now that I’ve tried this, it has sparked an interest in me. So, maybe I’ll take some singing lessons soon,” she adds.