From Kashmir to Cape Town: Rashmeet Kaur on Collaborations, Actor Aspirations and Community

The singer-composer recently teamed up with Kashmiri filmmaker Danish Renzu for the dark-pop song "Dil Khanjar"

- ANURAG TAGAT

Back from her morning run, Rashmeet Kaur is as energetic as ever when she talks about her involvement as singer-composer on the song “Dil Khanjar,” whose music video sees the artist play a role of a female protagonist bent on avenging the death of her partner.

Just like the revelatory turn in the music video directed by Kashmiri filmmaker Danish Renzu and featuring lyrics by Sunayana Kachroo, our interview with Kaur – a multigenre artist who’s worked in hip-hop, EDM, Punjabi pop, Sufi Bollywood soundtracks and more – comes with new goals she’s set for herself. She’s an aspiring actor and has a project in the works that intends to make her a global artist. There’s also her appearance as a contestant on action reality show Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi (which, interestingly, also features rapper Dino James) which is currently on air.

Kaur says over a call that she’s also working on “the biggest project of my life right now” out later this year. She adds, “It’s a hip-hop project and it involves multiple artists. It’s going to blow everyone’s mind […] I feel that people will get to hear a new side of me, but still intact with the rooted, Punjabi side of me.”

As an artist who’s collaborated with everyone from producers like Nucleya and Su Real to rappers like Raftaar and KR$NA and many more in between, Kaur’s openness to building a community together is at the core of such partnerships. While filming for Khatron Ke Khiladi in Cape Town, she went on to find South African and Congolese artists to work with, leading to more music that’s coming up. In an interview with