Apr 18, 2026 4:44pm IST
‘Bhooth Bangla’ Singer Nikhita Gandhi on Badshah’s Recent Controversy: ‘I Think It’s Unfortunate He’s Being Targeted’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Singer Nikhita Gandhi’s not the sort to mince words or beat around the bush. Through her decade-long career in the Hindi film industry, she’s been known to say things as she sees it, albeit she’s a bit more guarded since the last time this writer interviewed her.
Nevertheless, the playback singer for Wamiqa Gabbi in the song, “Tu Hi Disda” from “Bhooth Bangla” is in the mood to share a fair about about her latest Bollywood singles, upcoming collaborations, what she feels about the brouhaha around Badshah (who she has collaborated with a fair bit) and what’s next for her (film and non-film) in the year ahead.
Excerpts…
Walk me through 'Tu Hi Disda' from 'Bhooth Bangla’. When did it come to you?
I think I recorded the song last year at some point. That’s how long I've lived with this song in my system. I had no idea what film it was for or where it was going to release. But with [Pritam] Dada, it's always a no-questions-asked situation, because I know it's going to be amazing wherever it's going and whatever it's for. Also, Dada’s been working on multiple films. so I didn't know which film this song was being recorded for. I discovered it's for "Bhooth Bangla" very close to the song’s release. I saw a bit of the scenes before the song was released because we were fixing some audio for the 'film cut' of the song and it looked amazing. I am happy to be a part of it. I have sung a lot for Akshay Kumar's songs and this is my first time for Wamiqa [Gabbi]. So that's one new hat for me. Of course I am very, very thrilled to be part of this song because it is a beautiful song. And I think the thing I'm most happy about is that, like “Raabta,” my first song with the same combination of people, “Bhooth Bangla” also starts with me.
How was it teaming up with Arijit again?
I think some collaborations are inevitable. And, I don't know if this is a word, but ‘unignorable’. You can't really escape it. Which is why, I think this trio – of Pritam da, Arijit and me - is what makes it special.
What's the one thing you see everywhere in the industry that needs to change?
One thing that needs to change is the misconception that playback singers are just playback singers. It's personal to me, so it makes sense to talk about it. I think I get bucketed in a ‘She can only sing in that sort-of situation’. And I think that is a misconception. It's okay. I'm not mad about it. I think it's great. It gives me ammunition to prove people wrong. It is something that needs to change and I think it will.
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Any international collabs going forward?
There are actually some in the works. We haven't rolled out the release plan yet. Till we do that, it's not for the public eye, let’s put it like that. But yes, there are international collabs again this year.
You’ve done quite a few songs with Badshah. What is your take on the backlash he has got for a recent single’s lyrics and video. Do you feel anything needs to change on the Punjabi music front?
I really don't have an opinion. We have done some great work and I feel really bad for him, to be honest, that he's going through this because I think it's definitely been misconstrued to a large extent. Which is why I feel bad for him. I don't think the things he's being blamed for, is in actuality, as accused. And, you know, and I think I would leave it at the fact that there are a lot of people who have done a lot of cringey stuff, a lot of really inappropriate stuff as well and none of them have been held accountable. So I think it's unfortunate that he's being targeted, to be honest. I can't speak for all artists, but in my case, I'm not political or I don't get into these kind of conversations. These opinions are very personal and it's similar to your right to not discuss who you voted for, right? I am an artist and I only focus on music and spreading joy and happiness to people. And so I feel very bad when an artist is targeted and pulled into something more political than what they're known for and I really hope that he's fine.
Jonita Gandhi appeared in ‘Dacoit’’s ‘Touchbuddy’ video after being a playback singer for years. When can we expect to see you starring in film songs?
Soon. Super soon. There are a lot of followups happening this year, for sure.
Anything for your Bengali fans to look forward to this year?
Interestingly, yes. I have been, sort of, minimalistically adding a little Bengali flair in the music that I've been working on. Obviously that's where I'm from, that's where my roots are and I do want to bring the Bengali-ness to pop culture and to the Bollywood level. And of course, there are so many Bengalis in the music industry on a national and global level. But I think, you know, like how Punjabi pop is big and is culturally represented. I think cultural representation from Bengal is not as such. And I would like to be the face of it.
Talk to us about where ShNik – your collab with Shashwat Singh is at.
We launched ShNik last year and dropped three singles and we’re working on a few more. So that's actually a whole other tangent, which is a more experimental folk hip hop duo that we do. And since it's so far from Nikhita, the artist and Shashwat, the artist; it created its own identity, which is ShNik. And we are writing a lot of music on that.. So we do have ShNik songs rolling out this year as well.
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