Think Raga: 'Tune twins' Prakriti Kakar, Sukriti Kakar speak up on Bollywood dreams and going beyond playback singing

They are called ‘tune twins’ and they want to scale new heights of success in music industry. Prakriti and Sukriti Kakar, the talented singers have done playback in movies like Noor, Kapoor & Sons, Alone and Rustom. However, they do not want to restrict themselves to playback singing and want to be the face of their voices. Hoping to work with almost all the celebrated music directors of Bollywood, Prakriti and Sukriti feel they need to build their USP in the industry. In a telephonic conversation with InUth, the twin sisters spoke about their journey so far, their aspiration, the new culture of rap songs and more. Excerpts from the interview:

Tell me something about your journey in Bollywood?

Prakriti: We started at the same time. Something that a lot of people don’t know is that we started singing at a really young age. We were passionate since our childhood. It gradually happened and we got to sing two-three choruses. We are still at it, only two-three years old in the industry and we have a long way to go. Playback is the only place where our individual voices get recognition. Otherwise, we like to package ourselves as twin sisters and we perform a lot.

We have seen many legendary sibling duos in the music industry, like Lata Mangeshkar- Asha Bhosle, the Wadali brothers etc. Do both of you see yourself attaining the same level some day?

Prakriti: We want to sing till we are old, 80 and grey. We like to perform together. We want to not restrict ourselves to playback singing. We want to compose our music.
Sukriti: When we are going to drop our single then everyone will know what kind of music we love doing. The pop culture that goes on in the West has inspired us. Our idea is to be the face of our voices.

Do you think music in Bollywood is evolving or is it becoming worse?

Prakriti: I think the era of remixes is coming back. People don’t buy CDs, they just listen to it online. Music is being made for every possible genre and you have so much to choose from. There is enough music for everyone to like or hate.
Sukriti: It is very difficult to keep track of what is happening in the music world. There is so much that that happens. It is evolving as we get to know about a new composer in every other movie. So the industry has become more accepting in a way. Everyone gets a fair chance these days.

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How much do you like this new culture of rap songs? Don’t you think it reeks of laziness where music directors just take a short cut to make their song peppy? 

Prakriti: I honestly like it a lot. The thought that they have put into their songs is quite creative and I respect them for it. I am not a genre-oriented person.
Sukriti: I don’t think it is laziness. I think music directors keep it to make it catchy. It is not going to die out anytime soon, that is for sure.

Who is next on your bucket list in terms of music director you would like to work with? 

Prakriti: My number one would be Amit Trivedi. There is Pritam Da, I have been a fan of for as long as I can remember. Then there is Vishal-Shekhar.
Sukriti: For me, it has to be Pritam Da as he makes singers, singers. I would love to know what song he gives me. I would also want to work with AR Rahman, pretty much like everyone.

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Do you think there is sexism in the industry? For example, do you think male singers get more recognition but the female ones get a sour deal? 

Sukriti: Recently we crooned in Noor, which was amazing. You know no one can deny that the fact that there aren’t great songs written for women. The commercial big hit songs of women are the item songs. But that is how it is. It is more about heroes being bigger than heroines.

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Do you think the trend of actors singing for themselves?

Sukriti: As long as you can sing well, it is fine. But if you are just singing to promote your film, then it kills the opportunity for several other singers waiting.

Now, we know that there is no dearth of talent in the music industry. How do you deal with competition?

Prakriti: It is quite difficult. The thing that is important is consistency. After two songs, the wait for the third song is when people are forgotten. There are so many singers and hence having a USP is really important.