“I was so overwhelmed by AR Rahman Sir's magnanimous gesture of including me in his list of favourite singers.” – Pratibha Singh Baghel

Her melodious voice touches the very essence of the soul and takes you to a magical musical world. Meet Pratibha Singh Baghel who has sung many beautiful songs in her fabulous voice for films, various platforms and performed even in a play. Here Pratibha talks to Sumita Chakraborty about her musical journey, working with the maestros, performing at ISHa and more.

- Sumita Chakraborty

Pratibha, I believe you started out from a musical reality show and from there you went on to sing for Hindi films, in your eventful journey I'm sure you have been exposed to a potpourri of wonderful music... How much has your musical journey been impacted by the varied experiences you have had - from a reality show to now?

Yes, I started my musical official journey from Saregamapa 2009 and it has been wonderful. I never want to call my initial days a struggle. Everybody in every profession has to work with honesty, dedication and discipline, I did that too - I very strongly believe that hard work never goes wasted. And it didn't!

Being from a Rajput family, I never ever thought I would be in Mumbai, singing for films (Manikarnika, Saand ki Aankh, Bazaar, Bhuj, Bellbottom etc...), collaborating with maestros like the legendary Gulzar Sahab, Ustad Zakir Hussain Sahab, Deepak Pandit ji, AR Rahman sir, Shankar Mahadevan sir, Salim-Sulaiman ji, Sanjay Leela Bhansali ji and many more.

It just felt like a dream but here I am today. I got the blessings from all the musicians that I have always admired and have looked up to. When I was very new in Mumbai, I used to hear that the industry is very different and bad for females. But when I entered this industry, I only received appreciation and respect. I was fortunate that everyone around me was so inspiring and dedicated to music. Indeed, if you are talented, hard-working and dedicated, no hardships can come your way.

You worked with some of the biggest talents, could you tell us about that?