Sound of Mehfil

Singer Vidhya Gopal reflects on her music and the making of her live album Mehfil

- Verus Ferreira

Singer Vidhya Gopal who has lent her voice to popular series like Mirzapur, Permanent Roommates, and Modern Love Hyderabad, as well as films such as Sanya Malhotra’s Mrs, and Motichoor Chaknachoor, now brings a fresh meaning to mehfil, blending it with guitar, violin, bass, and more.

After her 2023 album Par, she returns with Mehfil, a live eight-track album recorded in a single day across three intimate sets. Rooted in traditional forms like thumri, dadra, and folk, her sound seamlessly weaves in western instrumentation and contemporary arrangements, creating a rich and fluid listening experience.

Gopal has collaborated with different artists, including Digvijay Singh Parihar, Yashika Sikka, and Ajay Jayanthi, to bring in harmonium, keys, tabla, guitar, bass, and percussion in her album.

Verus Ferreira caught up with the extremely talented Vidhya Gopal—best known as the voice behind Jaadu Waali Chimki from the recently released Aap Jaisa Koi— to talk about her music and more.

Excerpts from the interview:

You recently released a live album Mehfil featuring eight songs. Could you tell us more about the album and what inspired the title Mehfil ?

Mehfil means an intimate gathering for music and poetry. I wanted listeners to feel as if they were in the room with us, sharing the energy, silences, and conversation of a live performance.

Could you walk us through each track, what the lyrics convey and how the process unfolded?

Most songs are beloved traditional pieces presented in fresh arrangements. The exception is Moko Kahan, a Kabir bhajan that DigV (Digvijay Singh Parihar) and I composed especially for our voices and shared aesthetic. The other tracks are