Sukriti Kakar Ready to rock your world

Take it from us, this 30-year-old singer-songwriter is meant for the spotlight. In a tête-à-tête with Cosmo India, she lets us into her sound and soul.

- Diya J Verma

It’s 5:59pm on a Tuesday. I have one AirPod on—the other safely tucked away in its case—streaming Aa Zara, the Kakar sisters’ latest single. I’m waiting for our cover star to join the Zoom call. Anticipating a delay—thanks to her chock-a-block schedule—I'm unabashedly swaying to the upbeat track, when suddenly, a voice chimes in. “Hi!”

It’s Sukriti, bang on time. “I’m looking forward to this,” she adds. A minute into the song, I understand why she has got a grip on the generation. But I also know it’s her endearingly unpretentious demeanour that puts her in a league of her own. Sukriti Kakar has the mic—and the moment.

It’s her inherent star power that underscores her remarkable success in the industry—but it’s also Sukriti’s brand of high-tempo, melodic music that has you hooked. There's no stopping her...she’s en route to mega stardom.

And, she is also forthright by her own admission. “You need to keep it real with me. I'm super straight up, and sometimes very blunt.” Unbeknown to her, this revelation takes me off edge as I proceed to my questions, expecting candid and succinct answers.

Cosmopolitan India: Tell us about your early musical influences.

Sukriti Kakar: Backtrack to the early 2000s, we had incredible indie pop artists, the likes of Alisha Chinai, Shaan, KK, and Sonu Nigam, who were curating independent music beyond mainstream Bollywood...the ultimate dream. I also recall imploring my mum to buy me an MP3 player so I could keep tabs on the global music scene. Britney Spears, Madonna, Spice Girls—they were my first encounters with Western music. With no Google back in the day, I’d pen down all the lyrics and sing it aloud. My life was all about music.

C: And how do you make music that resonates with listeners across generations?