Singer-Songwriter Prateeksha Srivastava On Indie Rise: 'I Wanted To Bring A Woman’s Point Of View On Love'
· Free Press Journal
Prateeksha Srivastava the finalist on Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2009 reality show recently announced the release of her latest single, Sajna Ve. Prateeksha has a voice that carries both grace and grit.
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With millions of streams across platforms, her collaboration with Sunidhi Chauhan on Aankh went viral and made her an artist to watch out for. Prateeksha’s musical journey began at the age of three with classical training under the guidance of her parents and other mentors who she claims stood by her at all times.
Her collaboration with Vishal Mishra on the Bollywood release of Mila Tujhe (from the project Aap Jaisa Koi) and the energetic Coke Studio Bharat track Holi Aayi Re (featuring Malini Awasthi), make for an incredible contrast of soulful romance and festive colors and earned her significant appreciation. Prateeksha’s personal, intimate lyrics are soul stirring, with her new single she is all set to gain more admiration for her work.
In an interview with The Free Press Journal, the young singer talks about her new single, journey, and more.
Excerpts from the interview:
Is Sajna Ve drawn from personal growing up experiences, and how much comes from observing the lives of others?
Sajna Ve is just one of the many attempts that I am going to make in music, to bring out a woman’s point of view on love. I realised these days we have very little songs about how she is making the first move, innocently obsessing over the guy she is falling for. In real life conversations , I see women around me telling about their feelings and their efforts, I miss that in Hindi music. Hence, I decided to give this melody such direction .
Tell us the storyline for Sajna Ve and also about the lovely music video?
I was very clear on what the song is about, hence I started writing a concept. All my Shakespeare reading in the 8th standard helped me in incorporating Cupid the god love’s concept. Cupid hits this girl with the arrow of love, but she isn’t going to wait around for being pursued, she is a modern day girl with a strong mindset, she takes matters into her own hands and hits the arrow towards the guy she likes. She starts this mission of getting his attention, talking to him, spending more time with him and the entire mohalla is helping her. I wanted to show the setting of Lucknow, my hometown. I made the concept, even the characters and shots (for the first time) and when I presented it to the team, they took it to the next level and the final video is what you see.
Your EP Tiny Truths (Sept 2025) explored deeply personal themes—what stories and messages did you hope to convey through its three songs?
It’s a very tiny collection of three songs, and the commonality amongst them is the tiny truths. We talk about big revelations and truths but our days consist of small tiny things, tiny truths. The first song Tum Jo Ho Yahaan, talks about that version of love that we arrive at, the stable and mature love. The second song Safar talks about the initial college romance where it’s just stupidly falling for someone without involving the thinking and logic and analysis. That’s just pure and human. The third song Adhoora, talks about how one sometimes becomes an obstacle for one’s own growth and blooming because not all of us find it easy to just “hang out” and socialise with other people , especially when one feels low, one feels to shut out everybody and isolate. People deal with grief in strange ways.
How do you manage to be an artist as well as a lyricist?
Being a lyricist is a part of being an artist. And I usually have some ideas and words for a song that I am composing, sometimes it comes very easily and sometimes I have to ask someone else to complete the lyrics.
Did the success of Aankh (by Sunidhi Chauhan), Khayaal, and Tu Saamne (with composer-producer Abhijeet Srivastava) serve as a stepping stone for the opportunities that followed in your career?
Yes it did. My indie collabs have always helped me grab opportunities, Aankh happened after years of making music and releasing them. Aankh was a milestone as a composer, yes, but as a singer and songwriter, my indie collabs have been my stepping stones.
You collaborated with Romanian musician and DJ Edward Maya on Madhurashtakam, blending classical and electronic music. How did this collaboration come about, and what inspired you to reimagine this spiritual hymn?
It happened because of my management team All By Play. Dhaval Kothari was very keen on expanding my electronic fusion side globally and really thought that going the devotional route would be unique. He helped me connect with Edward Maya and we worked remotely, I tweaked the composition to suit the instrumental he had sent. It was a smooth process, and feels nice to think that is something that happened.
From being a child contestant on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs to becoming an indie singer-songwriter, what were the biggest challenges you faced along the way?
I think lack of knowledge of how to structure and process your own indie release is a big challenge I faced. How to earn royalties, as a composer, author and even as a publisher, how to earn money when songs are not viral or when labels aren’t acquiring your music. How to earn money amidst all this and survive in a city like Bombay is the biggest one of all.
So what has been the toughest lesson the city has taught you as an artist?
Mental stability and personal discipline is most important because this industry is anything but certain, anything but honest, anything but clear. One has to have a routine and discipline outside of what is happening in the career, one needs to have a calm mind and other hobbies or interests to keep exploring because life is not just about struggling in career , when you come home you should unwind and do something for your personal self, because that is the origin of all things that you do and will do in life.
What does the future look like for women in music?
I think the narrative is shifting in India, people are slowly becoming curious about female artists as well. Representation on big stages is surely going to expand for female artists.
In an age of instant messages and dating apps, do you think the experience of having a crush as seen in your music video has changed, or are we all still just humans at heart?
It has changed slightly because we all are knee-deep in this new system of social media. But I believe what will sustain this at core is going to be majorly what happens off-the app.
Songwriters are often observers of human behaviour. What's something you've noticed about modern-day romance that people rarely talk about in songs?
The fading out of love or connection. We talk about heartbreaks and sudden dramatic endings but is it really that way? Most of the time it fades out. There are little withdrawals that lead to the end. There are many mistakes from both sides, but we don’t show the raw and real version of romance a lot.
Singer-Songwriter Samahita Narang On Her Latest Release: 'It’s The Little Things… Love Is More Of A Habit Than A One-Time Gesture'From Bollywood to independent music, do you think there is a space for non-film music?
There already is. Bollywood still rules even though non-film music has reached places, but the space is expanding at a staggering speed.
From being chosen as a Spotify RADAR artist, featured on Spotify's RADAR Global playlists, and performing at Spotify RADAR events, what’s next for you?
I like to leave it to the universe honestly, all these things, I didn't know were coming to me. But, I do have a vision for this year which consists of building my live act and live experience so that people come to me for me solely.