Monica Dogra is an American singer and actress. Dogra is of Indian origin. She made her debut with Amir Khan Starrer ‘Dhobi Ghat’ and have also judged India’s first English music hunt show ‘The Stage’. Dogra has an electric rock group ‘Shaa’ir+Func”. She has released many of the albums but got her break with Vishal Dadlani in the film ‘Break Ke Baad’.

Monica released her first Hindi cross-over trak that is a remake of Abida Parveen’s “Naraye Mastana” which was a huge hit of 2005.  She said that she is not “mad” at the trend of recreating songs, and finds it a wonderful exercise.

Discussing about her creation Monica said:  “The song has only maintained the original hook and one of the verses. It is an out and out dance floor club tune.”

“I am rapping in the song and there is also a dub bridge in the middle that I actually wrote when I used to live in New York many moons ago,” she added.

When times west asked Dogra that “Are recreations tougher for musicians as they are always compared with the original artiste?”

To that she replies’ “For me, I don’t only recreate I also re-imagine. The final product ends up being so far from the original that there really is no comparison at all. So, no, I do not think it is tougher”.

The exotic video of “Naraye Mastana” was shot in the LA and by RA Dreyfus and produces by Marc Chenail, who has worked with global artists like Beyoncé Knowles, Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears and many more.

“Marc and I have been friends for a number of years. I find his work ethic inspiring. He quietly goes about the business of getting things done without ever unnecessarily fussing.”

“We both have a similar rhythm. After shooting the video, we both exclaimed to each other that we would kill to work together again! We were perfectly in sync.”

“His roster is also so prolific, having worked with Miley Cyrus, Pharrell, Missy Elliott, Madonna…I consider myself very lucky,” said Monica.

She found the music video of “Naraye Mastana” easily “one of the best things I’ve ever made.”

“It was directed by Ra Dreyfus, and featured choreography by Ehizoje Ezike, who has toured with Beyoncé on her last tour,” she said.

Dogra was asked that “How much does it help to have American talent on board?”

“It doesn’t matter where my collaborators are from. What matters to me are how hard they are willing to work and whether or not they are motivated by money or making beautiful art. My collaborators must always be aligned with the latter,” she said.

“I think the market is growing, but we have a long way to go. I’d love for the lines to blur though. We have channels that won’t play content in Hindi and channels that won’t play content in English. Hopefully soon,” she said.

When we have talented artists like Monica Dogra obviously the obviously the market for English songs by Indian singer will grow in future.

Check Out this Remake of ‘NARAYE MASTANA’