“Its all thanks to watching to my favourite mega-star Amitabh Bachchan songs that I am able to sing so many of his Hindi chartbuster songs fluently,” gushes gorgeous blonde-haired Georgian Israeli pop-singer Ilana Segev, who is currently in the city to perform and record with Bollywood producer-cum-eminent singer Anup Jalota.
Enthuses the singer, “It was a dream come true, when I finally met Amitabh-sir twice. As a fond gesture, I gave him a lovely portrait of a prayer for good health, which he has prominently hung on his office walls. The unassuming superstar has given me his good wishes to pursue my singing-acting career in Hindi movies,” shrugs Ilana in her clipped firangi accent. With her pretty looks, it’s not surprising that Jalota has cast her in a cameo-role in his upcoming thriller Hindi movie ‘Happy Singh’.
“Unfortunately the song which Ilana will be shown doing lip-sync to, in this movie, has already been recorded by noted Italian opera soprano singer Gioconda,” reveals ‘mentor’ Anup who plans to harness the exuberant Segev’s ‘smoky, heavy’ vocals in a big way.
Was the otherwise happily-married-to-a-civil engineer Ilana always aspiring to waltz into Bollywood music?
Tossing her golden tresses she smiles, “ My grandma was a huge fan of and used to sing Mukesh-Raj Kapoor songs and I guess I inherited the passion for Indian movie-numbers' tracks. Being earnestly enamoured with Amitabh songs, helped in boosting my vocal talents. Actually I am not formally trained in music—it comes naturally because I am also blessed with a good grasping-cum-recall power,” claims Ilana.
What is it that fascinates her about Indian culture and cuisine? “Besides warm Indian hospitality, I love desi ethnic outfits and jewellery, spicy biryani and munching yummy jalebis,” she signs off.