Renowned Indian singer Alisha Chinai reflects on her career and how she faced the challenges regarding payment disparity and dealing with music mafia.
Made in India fame and Kajra re , singer Alisha recently appeared in an an interview with Rizu Rani for the “Spotlight Sessions” podcast on the Zoom YouTube channel.
During the discussion, Chinai reflects on her career, starting with her first break in Bollywood given by Bappi Lahiri and the subsequent success of her pop album “Made in India.”
She shared the challenges faced by singers regarding payment disparity and lack of royalties, including her stand against low pay after hit songs like “Kaate Nahin Kat Te” and “Kajra Re.”
Chinai also recounts her experiences dealing with the “music mafia” and the controversy surrounding her song “Sexy Sexy,” while opening up about her divorce, financial struggles, mental health, and the professional isolation she faced after filing a sexual harassment case against Anu Malik in the 1990s.
She shared in that time singers were paid “so badly”. Sharing her personal experience she told, initially, her payment was 5,000 rupees. She revealed she used to “raise [her] eyebrows” regarding sensitive issues like payments, but was dismissed by producers who said, “It’s fine, you are a newcomer”.
Even when her payment increased to 10,000 or 15,000 rupees, she considered it “still very less” and “ridiculous”.
She specifically pointed out the significant disparity between the payment received by the singer (who is the “star of the song”) and the actor who is merely “lip-syncing” it.
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Apart from payment disparity, Alisha also confronted issues of industry sexism, typecasting, and sexual harassment, often facing isolation as a result.
She took a stand against sexual harassment by legally filing a lawsuit against famous musician Anu Malik. She was encouraged and supported in this decision by her then-husband, Rajesh, who was also managing her work.
As a consequence of taking this legal stand, she was “completely pushed against the wall by the industry” and felt “isolated to another level”.
She did not receive support from others in the industry, noting that when she asked a couple of girls and journalists for an affidavit, they refused.
However, she navigated this isolation by choosing to see it as a positive outcome, stating she was happy not to have to work at a place where she experienced “disrespect” or felt “uncomfortable”.
