Any kind of discrimination doesn’t affect me: Aastha

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Aastha Gill is among the best known female musicians in the indie music circuit today, especially when it comes to uptempo numbers. The Naagin and DJ Wale Babu hitmaker is glad that her songs are loved by the audience, and she credits that to her style of music, which is “updated and ahead of its time”. But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t faced tough times or isn’t facing any challenges now.

“Challenges are always there... Even after so many hits, sometimes people don’t know you, because only Bollywood playback singers are known. A lot of people have asked me if I was a model in the song Buzz ,butI have sung that track as well,” says Gill.

The music industry in the North, especially Punjab, is dominated by male artistes. Ask her if she has ever felt any kind of gender discrimination, and she tells us, “Maybe there is, but I don’t take anything to heart, because I am doing my own thing. I feel I have made a place for myself. This (the success) is written in my destiny, so any kind of discrimination doesn’t affect me.”

Meanwhile, the Bachpan Ka Pyaar singer has marked the festive season by venturing into the spiritual space for the first time. She has come up with a Navratri song, Saawariya, which marks her collaboration with veteran Bollywood singer Kumar Sanu.

“I wanted to experiment with a new genre. I had never worked on a song like this before. And I never thought I would get to work with someone like Kumar Sanu! The track takes you back to the ’90s,” she concludes.