 | | | Falu has an exquisite voice, whether it’s singing a duet with A.R. Rahman or excitedly talking about the highlights of her Paris vacation. It’s a voice that could easily be singing the vocals of the next hit Bollywood movie or heard in classical concerts in India.
Falu, however, had different plans for her voice.
A self-admitted crazy dreamer, Falu attributes her choice to come to the States and create her own sound to her mother. “My mother always said ‘Do something innovative. Do something new.” Falu’s training under famed classical singer Ustad Sultan Khan would’ve led to a successful career as a Bollywood or classical singer, but Falu’s inspiration by the music of The Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel put her on a different path on her career.
She has come a long way from her arrival to the States, living in Boston and taking the Chinatown bus to New York weekly for performances. Falu has collaborated with Wyclef John, Bernie Worrell, and Yo-Yo Ma, all that has helped her create the Indie Hindi sound that is uniquely hers. Her stunning classical vocals, melted with a mix of Western and Eastern sounds, have been heard at Carnegie Hall and the Bowery Ballroom.
Falu’s career in music seems to be destined from above; both her mother and maternal grandmothers are singers, and her brother is an accomplished tabla player. Recognizing her daughter’s talent at a young age, she had Falu training with India’s top classical vocalists and encouraged her daughter to follow her dream and come to the States. “My mother always said ‘when opportunities come to you, you don’t show it the back door.’ She was right,” Falu recounts in her lilting voice. Her mother, still in Mumbai, visits Falu for several months every year, but it’s her husband (a fellow musician and brain surgeon) who provides love and support to his songstress wife, as well as working around their frantic schedules.
“There’s no separation between professional life and personal life in this career. You pay a price to be in this business,” she recounts. When Falu got the call from A.R. Rahman’s office to perform a duet with him at the Time 100 Most Influential gala, she said yes immediately even though it meant cutting short her Parisian vacation with her husband. Despite their busy schedules, Falu and her husband find time to enjoy the married life, from watching movies, exploring museums, and creating music. She claims her husband is actually the better singer (“our music teacher would always praise him, and I would say ‘What about me?!’”), but she’s the better performer. She also has a clear vision for her sound and where she wants her career to go.
Her sound is truly unique, as is the genre she has created. Falu defines Indie Hindi as “a mix of everything, from rock, to world, mixed with some Bollywood and jazz.” Her influences are as eclectic as her sound; in addition to the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel, she also loves U2 (and has a lot of respect for Bono), Radiohead, Sting, Ella Fitzgerald, and Emmylou Harris. She even loves country and blues music, and like the rest of the world, has been captivated by Lady Gaga: “She’s so different and unique!”
The sound of her self-titled debut album is rich and worldly, but Falu is already looking to evolve the sound for her next album. “I’ve been writing a lot and have been really inspired by jazz, especially the improvisation quality of that genre. As an artist, you have to continue to evolve your sound and push yourself into new styles.” She names John Cochran, Fred Wesley, and Bernie Worrell as some of the artists she’s been collaborating with.
She has accomplished a lot since coming to the States and spending countless hours on the Chinatown bus, but she’s poised to make all her goals come true. “There’s so much I want to accomplish; I don’t know even where to start!” she exclaimed. She would love to perform at the stunning Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado in the next year or so, and eventually have a stadium tour. She would love to collaborate with Bono, on music as well as charity. “I’m so amazed at what he’s done musically as well as charitably. I would love to do something similar for India to what he’s done battling poverty and AIDS in Africa.” Mira Nair is also another dream collaboration for Falu, whether it’s writing or performing on a film soundtrack. She’d love to incorporate a Latin sound in her music and build the Indie Hindi genre to the global level that Bollywood and bhangra has reached, wanting it to be a familiar sound in every household all over the world. While conquering the musical world, she also wants to start a family and become a mother. “I want my career and to become a mother—become a “full woman” and experience life in every aspect.” She wants to raise a tough child that can face anything—especially since he or she will spend a lot of her childhood on a tour bus. “I want my child to be exposed to the arts and the sciences, and then figure out what they want to do.” Falu has a lot of dreams and the tenacity and talent to achieve them.
As powerful a performer and singer Falu is, she assured me that she’s really very shy and boring. While her band members go out after a show, she prefers to unwind with a warm glass of milk and a good night’s sleep to prepare for her next concert. She doesn’t drink or smoke and prefers intimate dinners and gatherings with a few friends over a huge party. While you may not see Falu dancing on tables at a club, you can find her cultivating her other talents at acting and dance classes, playing sports, and performing yoga. Falu is also passionate about social issues facing children in India. “Since Slumdog Millionaire, the Indian government has a great need to reform the slum problem since the world is watching. I hate the discrepancy between the rich and poor in India, and I’ve grown up witnessing it in Mumbai.” She’s worked with CRY and Tsunami relief charities and is deeply committed to raising funds to these causes.
“Being a Desi Diva holds a lot of responsibility. You need to hold yourself accountable to representing a 5000+ year old culture in a modern light without polluting the history or heritage,” Falu says. “It’s about being a role model and doing good for your culture and giving back in a positive way. The title holds a lot of responsibility and carries a lot of weight. This generation has done a great job in respecting family values, their elders, and culture. The challenges are teaching our children the culture and make them understand the responsibility they’ve inherited. Desi Divas are smart and driven, and I don’t think anything can stop us.” Falu is an accomplished singer, a social issues advocate, and a true Desi Diva.
Find out more about Falu at www.falumusic.com | | | Hitha is the Managing Editor of The Desi Diva.
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