I know people really enjoy it when a foreigner sings in Hindi: Iulia
Romanian actor, model and TV host, Iulia Vantur, has always been in the news, thanks to her proximity with actor Salman Khan and rumours of their relationship. However, what has got her back in the headlines is her latest single, titled Harjai. She has sung the song with actorhost Maniesh Paul and composer-lyricist Sachin Gupta.
“It has been a really good experience and I, myself, am so surprised by the appreciation that I’ve been getting from everyone. Even some friends in the industry have told me that they heard the song once and it’s playing in their head on loop. So, it’s a good sign, as we have put our heart into it,” says Iulia.
Asked if it was tough to get the Hindi dialect and accent right, Iulia says that it was “rather easy” for her to sing this one. “You won’t believe it, but when Maniesh made me hear the song, I liked it so much that I didn’t even realise there were no lyrics written for the female part, as it was not supposed to be a duet. So, when we went to the recording studio, we wrote the female singer’s lyrics line by line and Maniesh just told me to go in front of the mic and sing it and see how it sounds. So, that’s how recording for the song started — I didn’t even know [the words at first],” she quips.
Iulia has earlier sung Umbakkum (from O Teri, 2014), a version of Baby Ko Bass Pasand Hai (from Sultan, 2016) and Every Night and Day (from Himesh Reshammiya’s album Aap Se Mausiiquii).
However, Iulia admits that at every point during the recording, she was aware that she had to “sound proper with a perfect accent” and for that, she gave it her best. “I know people really enjoy it when a foreigner sings [in Hindi] but they should be able to understand it. So, more than the lyrics, I was concentrating on the whole feel and tune of the song,” she shares.
All praise for Maniesh, her co-star in the video, Iulia says that he gave her guidance at every step. “He was very supportive during our recording sessions. He throughout helped me with my pronunciation and diction. If I wasn’t getting a word right, he would tell me how it should be,” says Iulia, who has already struck a deal to record movie numbers and singles.