American singer and actress Monica Dogra is known for her powerful presence on stage, her musical abilities performing as one half of the alternative music duo ‘Sh’aair and Func’, as well as her acting chops in movies like Dhobi Ghat. She is a regular sight at indie music festivals across the country and dishes out superlative music regularly. So, of course, judging an English singing reality show that discovers talented musicians was a natural extension of her talents.
With the second season of The Stage hitting Indian television screens, she talks to us about indie music, Kollywood, and more. About her involvement with The Stage since its first season, Monica tells us, “Since I moved to India, I’ve been trying to create and support independent music, and the movement in the industry. The Stage is a powerful vision and is the perfect space to launch immense talent. The first time was an experiment for all of us, judges and contestants included, and the nation was very accepting. This season will definitely be bigger and brighter! All my co-judges (Ehsaan Noorani, Vishal Dadlani, and Devraj Sanyal) have been fabulous.”
Ask her if more attention should be paid to Indian singers who belt out English music, and pat comes the response, “Of course. We have to make the industry pay attention, and that’s what the show is trying to do.”
She also says that she is impressed with Tamil music and the film industry. “I think the language is such a percussive and beautiful language — that combined with music is brilliant. The movies too are the epitome of Indian culture to me, with all the colour, song-and-dance rotuines and men in glorious moustaches,” she laughs. When asked if she’d be open to working in Tamil cinema, she says, “Yes, in a heartbeat! India is such a diverse and rich country wherever you go and I enjoy doing diverse things myself. I want to do the same with my art! I would love to work in non-Bollywood projects too.”
The talented songstress has a busy year ahead besides working on the reality show — “There’s not much I can talk about at the moment in terms of movies or music. But, I will be releasing a record in January. I also have a single coming out with Malaysia-based artiste Resh called Trouble in a few days— people are going to love it!”
