Bollywood singer and Internet sensation Neha Kakkar has released her latest music video ‘Narazgi’, whose music director is also herself. In the video, she features along with an actor Akshay Oberoi, and it presents a tale of a young girl trying to converse with her former lover.
The video opens with Neha sitting on a stage-like setup at a party. Glamorous looking with a red saree, the singer starts the song in a few English lines. She’s performing it in front of an audience, and at the time Akshay enters the garden with a girl in tow. Post that, we see Neha singing for him, trying to sort out their differences with her song. Viewers also can see moments when she gets emotional. Anyway, the ending is gloomy as the lovers were not reunited in the climax.
Compliments and bad reactions
Neha Kakkar’s husband, a Punjabi musical artist, Rohanpreet Singh, and her brother, a musician and a lyricist, Tony Kakkar showered love on the song. “Just wow!!? I’m in love with you and this song!!?.”, commented Rohanpreet sharing a video clip of the music video on his Instagram account, while her brother Tony Kakkar commented, “Bliss ?.”
However, netizens are sharing their disappointment over the song because of her fake English accent in English lyrics. They've even started trolling for her fake accent. A user reacted and wrote, “You can’t even sing well in Hindi and you are trying an English song.” Another wrote, “Trying to be - ‘Dua Lipa’ but became – ‘Tony Kakkar’.” A third user commented, “such a forceful fake English.”
Some newspapers are also critical of the music video. Entertainment Desk of The Indian Times criticised: "While Neha Kakkar has done a splendid job as a singer, the (music) direction is nothing to write home about. With a done and dusted subject, the performance by Neha and Akshay is also average. However, the lingering effect and the very 90s ghazal vibe will ensure the song becomes a chartbuster."
Outlook, while presenting fans' disappointment over the music video, pointed out her recent musical endeavours. According to it, for the last few years, Neha Kakkar has been trolled for remaking popular songs from the past.
A familiar face
Neha Kakkar is not an alien to Sri Lankan Bollywood fans. Especially SL Television and Youtube viewers know her as a nice, kind hearted and always crying judge of several reality shows including "Indian Idol". They can recall how she cried when veteran old singer santosh Anand came to Indian Idol as a guest. Although Neha now appears as a veteran judge in the Idol, she first came forward as a contestant in the same reality show in 2006. At the age of eighteen, she auditioned for the second season of it, but got eliminated early. Thereafter, she has had a meteoric rise.
Neha Kakkar was born on June 6, 1988, in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. According to the facts, when she began performing at local gatherings and religious events, she was just 4 years old. In the early 90s, Kakkar along with her family moved to Delhi. Then, in 2004, she moved to Mumbai along with her brother, Tony Kakkar, for try the luck in singing. Though she was defeated at the Indian Idol show in 2006, it didn't affect her musical career. In 2008, she launched her debut album ‘Neha, The Rockstar’ with music by Meet Bros. Anjjan.
Muscial career
During the time, she recorded for a music album, Romeo Juliet composed by her brother, Tony Kakkar. She sang "Hai Rama" from Meerabai Not Out (2008) along with Sukhwinder Singh. The following year, she was featured in A.R. Rahman's composition, the theme song of Blue (2009) where she provided the chorus vocals for the song. Then, she lent her voice for the title track of the Hindi-language teledrama ‘Na Aana Is Des Laado’ (2009).
Neha Kakkar made her screen debut in 2010, with Vidhi Kasliwal's film ‘Isi Life Mein...!’ She played the role of a college student in it. The same year, she debuted in both the Kannada and Telugu music industry by performing a total of four tracks for Sandeep Chowta. She gave her voice for the title track of the Kannada film ‘Thamassu’ and the song "Nodu Baare" alongside Master Saleem. The former resulted in her only Film Fare Awards South nomination as the Best Female Playback Singer.
2014 saw the rise of Kakkar with the release of three popular songs, according to Wikipedia. The first release of the year was a collaboration with Yo Yo Honey Singh for the film ‘Yaariyan’. The duo collaborated once again for Bollywood's first trance number, "Manali Trance" from The Shaukeens. Her first work with Amit Trivedi, a wedding song titled "London Thumakda" was released in the same year, which received positive reviews from critics. On the occasion of Mother's Day, she shot and released a song for her mother which gained positive response among the audience.
In 2015, she featured alongside Shilpa Shetty in the video single ‘Wedding Da Season’, composed by Amaal Malik. In 2016, she performed the popular song ‘Mile Ho Tum’ from the film ‘Fever’, composed, written and co-sung by Tony Kakkar. This became the most-viewed Bollywood song on YouTube. In the same year, she contributed to the soundtrack album of Baar Baar Dekho by performing the wedding-song "Kala Chashma" which became the "party anthem of the year".
The year 2017 marked Neha's first of many collaborations with Tanishk Bagchi which resulted in the rehashing of several Bollywood songs in the coming years. Their first release, ‘Badri Ki Dulhania’ became an instant chart-buster among the audience and was included in the list of most-viewed Indian videos on YouTube with over 500 million views. Her songs ‘Dilbar’ and ‘Aankh Maarey’, released in 2018, reached the list of most-viewed Indian videos on YouTube and the former being the first Indian song to reach number three on the Billboard YouTube Music Chart.
Hallmark of her music
Neha's music contains elements of pop, hip hop, and R&B, and her voice has been described several times in the media as "distinct", "unique", "chirpy", "seductive" and "partially nasal". She did not take any formal vocal training which is the difference of her music. She was influenced by her elder sister Sonu Kakkar. According to her, she "guides me on how to sing particular songs". She named her brother Tony as a constant pillar of strength.
In 2017, Neha Kakkar was included in the list of 35 boldest entrepreneurs of India who are changing the game in various industries. The same year she appeared in the Forbes Celebrity 100, a list based on income and popularity of India's celebrities. She was listed at the 64th spot in 2017 and 29th spot in 2019. In 2019, she was listed on position 2nd among the most viewed female artists on YouTube with 4.2 billion views worldwide. In December 2020, she appeared in the list of Asia's 100 Digital Stars by Forbes.