Falguni Pathak “The Undisputed Dandiya Queen”

Come Navratri and only one woman will rule the roost. The one and only, the inimitable Falguni Pathak. The cutely plump and diminutive vocalist who stays in hibernation for most of the year emerges into spotlight only during Navratri. Dressed simply in her trademark avatar, she is quite a phenomenon when she takes to the stage in Mumbai. Like a prima donna, she holds the throngs of Dandiya revelers spell -bound for hours by belting out hit after hit at break neck speed. Dancers tire out and so do musicians but not Falguni. As pearls of sweat adorn her forehead, she just shakes her mane like a lioness and performs with the passion of someone possessed. “I will thank the Almighty for blessing me with such boundless energy. It is because of Mata Rani’s blessings that I am able to perform for such long hours without feeling the pain. Also the faces of my audience light me up and push me to give my best,” says Falguni to SONUP SAHADEVAN in an exclusive interview with CINEBUSTER.

Call it her reticent nature, Falguni prefers to remain low profile at all times. She is a woman of few words and finds it easier to sing rather than giving interviews. “It is not my cup of tea, “says Falguni while we sit down for an interview. She is quick to add, “Ask me to sing instead and I can do that very easily.” It is such a refreshing change, I thought. On one hand, we have singers especially from Bollywood who act pricey when someone requests them to hum a line and here is someone who is more than eager to sing that talk. Call it the trademark of a true artiste.

Just like previous years, this time too Falguni Pathak will undoubtedly be the most sought after performer during Navratri in Mumbai. “I started singing when I was nine years old. As far as Navratri goes, I have had a very special association with this dear festival. This will be my 24th year at Navratri. I had never ever dreamed that I would reach here. All I can say is I am blessed. It is all Almighty’s planning. I worked hard and was faithful to my work and always made sure to give happiness to my parents. God helped me and the rest fell in place.”

Popularly known as the Queen of Dandiya, the singer’s charisma remains unchallenged and every passing year, revelers throng her arena in record numbers making her the Numero Uno in this business.”I never expected that people would love my performances so much. When I started out first in 1994 with my group called Tataiya, it was our endeavor to make sure that our audience gets their money’s worth. We wanted them to go back home feeling fully satisfied. So we worked with that mantra. And with every passing year we looked at where we went wrong, what improvements could be made and how we could better ourselves next time.”

What is endearing however is to see the songstress exuding utmost modesty about her dizzying popularity during Navratri and preferring to not attach much ado to her uber popular status. When asked about remaining at the top despite facing competition from other top-notch singers, Falguni says, “I have never indulged in any show-off to prove that I am the biggest in this business. We are also not in any sort of competition. I do this because I believe in Mataji (Goddess Durga) and love singing live.”

For Falguni, it is the satisfaction of all revelers that matter finally. “The platform of Navratri is so big that I thank my Goddess every time I go out to sing in public. I just keep in mind that our audience should have a great time and they should have their money’s worth.”

This year, Falguni would be performing live in Borivali, her favorite hunting ground and real estate giants Ruparel realty have come on onboard to provide the necessary financial muscle. As always, Falguni has a few new songs especially for Navratri between 1 to 11 October. “I have planned to have a lot of new Gujarati numbers. I will also be singing Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Rajasthani and Sufi numbers as well,” shares Falguni.

The final performance one sees on stage is also the result of many days of preparation that she undertakes to remain in top form on the D-day. Sharing a little about the practice regimen, Falguni exults. “I listen to a lot of songs especially the folk numbers of Goddesses and practice them for about 12 to 15 days.”

Despite being a prolific live performer and well-known singer and having cut out many blockbuster albums in the 90s, Falguni has not stepped in to do playback singing in Bollywood. When asked about her reasons behind keeping away from the film industry, Falguni says, “I have never focused on Bollywood much. Also, I have never got a chance. If I do get a chance and if it is something good, I am open to singing.”

One also got to see a light hearted banter between her and Shah Rukh Khan on Twitter with the latter mentioning that she should have sung the Garba song Udi Udi in Raees. Talking about it, Falguni quips, “Yeah, I could have sung it but Shah Rukh Khan never called me up. May be he didn’t have my number.”

With Navratri fast approaching, Falguni will be left with no breathing space as she will be trying to make time for rehearsals, planning her daily shows, costumes, playlist and other things. Not to forget she will also be earning big bucks this season. Sources peg her earnings at a staggering 25 lakhs per day which means that she will end up earning in cool crores for the 11 day affair. But of course, she deserves what she is getting and no one can complain, for she makes sure to give everyone back their money’s worth.If you want to groove to the most pulsating garba music, Falguni’s show in Mumbai is where you should head towards during Navratri.