Bollywood has caught up with Hinglish music: Neeraj Shridhar

Mumbai, Aug 2 (UNI) Bollywood, though belatedly, has caught up with ''Hinglish'' music, observes Bombay Viking's Neeraj Shridhar of 'Kya Surat Hai' fame, the pioneer of catchy pop hits with ingenious mix of Hindi-English lyrics.

Though Neeraj has four remix albums under his belt, with many of his songs regularly played on the party circuit, it has taken almost a decade to gain instant mass recognition through the hit single 'Hare Ram, Hare Krishna' from Bhool Bhulaiya.

''T-series had introduced me to Pritam and then I sung for him for 'Bhagam Bhag,' the next project with him was 'Bhool Bhulaiya.' 'Hare Krishna Hare Ram' became an overnight hit. From then on, there was never any looking back,'' says Neeraj.

Looking back at his career, Neeraj says, ''When I brought the Hinglish lingo into the music industry, I was criticised by everyone. But, gradually even the Hindi film music industry caught up with this kind of music and things changed for me.'' With a shift in his musical market, Neeraj has also changed his name from Bombay Viking to Neeraj Shridhar.

Letting on a secret, Neeraj says, ''the biggest kick I get is from live performances.'' UNI ZC LY SP KP1857