This 25-year-old vocalist wears many hats and shuffles from classical to rock to folk with equal ease.

Meet Shrestha Das, who made her playback debut with the Bengali film Bohurupi. She delivered three hits, Dakatiya Banshi, Shimul Polash, and Tui Amar Hoe Ja, in the film. The first two are folk tunes, while the third is a love ballad.

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Her singing career started early, when she was around eight, when she started taking formal training from guru Sandip Nag. But the knack for singing she got from her grandmother and mother, who would sing at home. “I had the knack for singing and could sing in tune even without any training,” says the singer. She paused her training during her school final years. But the break also helped her make up her mind that she would pursue singing as her career. “As a child, I loved singing so much that my parents would coax me to study by telling me that I could sing only if I studied. So my motivation to do well in academics came from my love for singing,” said Shrestha.

After completing her master’s, she got a job as a western vocal singer teaching kids in schools. By this time, she was already performing on stage, singing western numbers. That led her to connect with lots of bands. She also managed to work with seasoned musicians like Sumit Ramachandran, Gabu Chatterjee, Bodhisattva Ghosh, Chirodeep Lahiri, Bonny Chakraborty, Pradyumna Singh Manot (Paddy), etc.

Shrestha is also a songwriter. Her first song, Tomorrow, was in English, while the second one, a psychedelic rock, was in Bengali (Ghoom), which also won her a nomination at FM radio awards.

Though the youngster was carving her niche, her preferences lay somewhere else. “I had made up my mind that I would sing mainstream to reach the masses,” she said.

In the meantime, she also collaborated with independent musicians from Bangladesh. She had also dabbled in jazz, blues, funk, soul, RnB, etc., testing her versatility.

It was at this stage that the offer to sing for Bohurupi came her way. As the singer admits, life has changed for her. She has become famous.

How the film Bohurupi came her way is another story, she narrates. “The break came when Bonnie Chakraborty, the music director, called me to record a scratch (guide track) for the film. He had known me from the time when we were supposed to do a 31st-night gig, which did not happen due to Omicron. The first song was approved within that evening. The other two also turned out to be good enough. In the third song, I put in some vocal layers, which I like to do. They also used it in the background music of the film,” said Shrestha.

She admits that after the movie, there have been a lot of changes in her life as she has managed to reach out to a lot of people with her background scores. “Now I can get shows under my name, and I’m really excited about it. When I go to shows, people are eager to hear me; they now relate to me and recognise me. It has been a surreal feeling to see success. It has been my dream that the world hears my voice. I worked hard for it. When the hard work shows in terms of people’s appreciation, I feel blessed,” adds the singer.

She may be busier than before and seen success, but she says she should value more people who stood by her in her difficult times.

Life may have changed for the better, but it had come after a lot of struggle. And she counts on music and her mother for the support and for overcoming the difficult phase. “My childhood has been really difficult. In my family I only had my mother’s backing. I was in Class X when I shifted out with my mother. Since then, music has been a pivot in my life. I banked on music to get over my difficult moments. After any setback, I would come back to crank up some music and get over any negativity. That built up more attachment with music. It is refreshing and a calming force in my life, just like a friend,” says the Bohurupi singer.

The struggles with life and the disappointments made the singer more balanced and also philosophical. She is never overawed and overjoyed by any adulation. “I have seen life change after Bahurupi. I never have too many expectations from life. I just do my work and give my best and then forget about it. I know how transient life is. I want to stay calm and never go overboard,” adds the singer.

Since her initial days, when she was on the lookout for good work, Shrestha has always taken whatever has come her way. “I never say no to any work, especially if I’m doing it with known people. During the time I wasn’t busy, I sang in a web series, Chotolok and Biye Bibhrat, and sang for independent movies, which are now doing the rounds of film festivals. Asampurna is one of them,” says the singer, who loves to sing in different languages, including Japanese.

Shrestha feels it for people like her, who are not from the industry and have no godfathers; work should speak for them. She comes across as a reserved person, unless she is amongst her own people.

And she lets her work speak. Her classical base has been her foundation, which she is very proud of. Shrestha adds, “The realisation that I have a good base has been with me. I know I have trained for it, and I can see things that others cannot because of my varied experience while training. I have also gotten calls where the composers have told me that they want me as they want to add depth to a song.”

She may be confident in herself, but she is also aware of what others are doing in the industry. She says her competition is with her own self. “I keep track of the good work others are doing and take inspiration from them. I’m ambitious and want to improve my singing all the time,” she says.

For someone who says they can survive on just music, caring little for sleep and food and doing riyaz for the whole day, Shrestha is looking forward to her next ‘engagements’. “There are communications for new projects. Next is an independent project where I’m going to sing an alternative rock number in English, apart from live shows. “In the pipeline is producing my own songs. Two have already come out, while I plan to bring out more. I also felt that I was not in my creative bubble and missed it. So, in between, I plan to bring out my own songs,” signs off Shrestha, who idolises Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, David Copperfield, Steve Tyler, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Bhimsen Joshi.