Odia Girl Lisa Mishra Is The New Musical Sensation Of Bollywood

Odia Girl Lisa Mishra Is The New Musical Sensation Of Bollywood

Be it space, aviation or top echelons of civil service, there is no field left where Odias have not made a mark for themselves. Bollywood’s music scene would vouch for that since its new sensation is an Odia girl Lisa Mishra whose voice is trending in the chartbusters. After debuting with ‘Veere Di Wedding’ last year, she is now rocking the stage with hits such as ‘The Wakhra Song’ (Judgementall Hai Kya). The ‘Tareefan’ girl shares her musical journey and love for Odisha in an exclusive conversation with My City Links.

Hailing from Berhampur, Odisha, Lisa has lived a major part of her life in the United States of America. Brought up in a multi-cultural atmosphere, language or diction has never been a barrier for her. Starting music from the age of four, Lisa says, “As a passionate musician, I always had a wish to get into mainstream music. And I could say, my real journey began when I started making videos for YouTube in 2007 when I was barely thirteen. I am a self-taught artist as far as technicalities of music, singing, and learning instruments like the guitar is concerned. The turning point for me was when I made this cover version of ‘Kabira’ from ‘Ye Jawaani Hai Deewani’ and uploaded it somewhere during 2015. That was really appreciated by people. That gave me the confidence to experiment and I became frequent in uploading videos.”

With 12 years of popularity on YouTube and five years on Instagram, Lisa made it to Bollywood under the most interesting circumstances. Her years of dedication and practice yielded results when impressed by her cover version of the original track ‘Tareefan’ from the movie ‘Veere Di Wedding’, actress Sonam Kapoor and her sister Rhea Kapoor called her down to Mumbai to shoot its reprise version. 

“In a few hours, I was seeing all that happening. Working with Kareena, Sonam, Swara, Shikha, Rhea and the entire team of the film was magical. My dreams were turning into reality. And I believe, the world fairly notices your talent when the time is right. Besides, I believe it is something I have earned.”

Lisa has also worked with Badshah in one of the songs ‘Right Up There’ for his album ‘ONE’. She also recently collaborated with Bollywood singer and music composer Vishal Mishra in the ballad ‘Sajna Ve’. 

The duet seems to have worked wonders for both Vishal, who has successfully worked in movies like ‘Kabir Singh’, ‘Notebook’ and also in ‘Veere Di Wedding’,  and Lisa. With appreciation and applause pouring in from all quarters, the track which released in May 2019 has more than 12 million views on YouTube and 20 million plays on JioSaavn. “Working with Vishal was a blissful experience. He is the writer, composer and my co-singer in ‘Sajna Ve’. “I feel grateful for working with someone so multi-talented because it pushes me to be an even more well-rounded artist.”

Its been an eventful journey for Lisa so far. From punching codes in a 9 to 5 job to become a part of Bollywood, she has come a long way, exploring the world of music on her own. She has developed a deeper understanding of music through her relentless pursuit of excellence. She has trained herself in the guitar without any professional guidance. “The more you let your art go free with positivity, the more of a universal essence it develops,” she says.

Of course, while Mumbai is now THE destination for this talented singer, the Odia in her keeps remembering her homeland.

“I have lived in Odisha till I was six years old and after that, I moved to the US with my parents. But I have never been away from Odisha for long since my entire extended family lives in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Berhampur. Berhampur literally lives inside me as I have a part of my childhood treasured there. And since my mother is from Puri, every year we visited Odisha, a trip to Puri was also a must in the list. I particularly miss the delicious Odia food, Jagannath temple, and my hometown.”

On the work front, Lisa, who is fluent in many languages, is now basking in the glory of her recent hit track ‘The Wakhra Song’ from the film ‘Judgementall Hai Kya’.

“‘The Wakhra Song’ is my first original Bollywood track which I sang along with talented singers Navv Inder and Raja Kumari. The song mostly has Punjabi words in the lyrics which was fun experimenting with. Working with Tanisk Bagchi is a delight, and he gives an artist the freedom to experiment the song in their own way. Kangana and Rajkumar are brilliant in the entire movie. I would say, this is the beginning for me. I have a long  way to go.”

Talking about the Indian music industry, she says, “With the advent of digital platforms, you no longer have barriers to entry as a newcomer. Fresh talents can simply publish their music to the same platforms as recognised musicians and make it big. The world is also becoming more globalised so we are incorporating new sounds like hip hop and Latin fusion- it’s an exciting time of growth for the industry.”