Punjabi folk songs helped singer Neha Bhasin connect with her roots

New Delhi, June 15 (ANI): Singer Neha Bhasin, who has surprised her fans and music lovers with her acoustic version of Punjabi folk songs, says that by performing these unique renditions, she 'unknowingly' connected with her roots.

"I am a Punjabi and I have grown up listening to all the Punjabi folk songs. My mom, grandmom everyone used to sing these. It kind of stayed with me somewhere. When I started this project, I automatically started connecting with my roots," Neha told ANI in an exclusive interview.

The singer was very scared if she could pull off this genre of music, as in the past, she had sung rock and metal inspired numbers in Bollywood.

"When the music composer Sameer Uddin asked me to try my hands on singing folk songs, I was very unsure about it because it was very different to the kind of songs I had sung in the past. Sameer guided me to try with a song that I've grown up listening to," the 33-year-old said.

And that's how 'Lathe Di Chadar' happened.

The song became so famous that the singer-composer duo continued the project and released couple of other songs, creating space for a new sort of genre in order to uplift the status of folk songs and singers in the present time.

"Nobody did an acoustic version for such songs. So, when people heard my version, they really liked it. This new version makes these songs gullible for this generation," the 'Dhun Ki Laage' hit-maker said.

On being asked if she would like to experiment with folk songs in other languages, Neha said, "I would love to, but would like it if other artists also join the initiative."

She added, "I can collaborate with different singers and music composers for such projects but do not know if I would completely take up on it. People in our country are very emotional about their traditions, so I wouldn't like to go wrong with it at any point of time."

The singer will be part of the month long ode to the legendary artist R.D. Burman on 92.7 Big FM.