“I genuinely feel that people do shower their love when they hear something that they already know, love and are familiar with. The hook line of the song on harmonium, which has been taken from the original version by Madan Mohan ji (composer) is what drew people to it and that’s what made the song a hit,” says Gandhi.

Weighing in on the never-ending debate of remake culture and lack of original music, she says, “The music industry playing a balancing act. However, I feel platforms like these (social media) should be used to promote original music, too.”

Gandhi refers particularly to Jhumka, and points out that RARKPK has so many references to old classic songs, that something like Jhumka being a part of the script was an apt fitment. “So in my opinion, it has been justified more than any other remake. In isolation, it may sound like another remake but in the context of the film, it makes sense. When the song was offered to me, there was some level of curiosity as to how it will be received. It was an experiment, and fortunately, it landed well,” explains the singer, who has crooned hits such as The Breakup Song (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil; 2016), Allah Duhai Hai (Race 3; 2018), Dil Ka Telephone (Dream Girl; 2019), Deva Deva (Brahmastra; 2022) and Current Laga Re (Cirkus; 2022).

While she acknowledges that social media has been the prime reason behind the success of Jhumka, she also credits such platforms for her success so far. “I became popular because of a YouTube cover that went viral on social media, so I’m a product of it. It’s a great tool to promote our voice and expression,” she says, and is quick to mention its flip-side.

“It’s a bit disappointing to see how your popularity is the biggest driver here, and that was very intimidating for me initially. People in the industry were like, ‘Oh, this person is really popular on Instagram’, so they replaced me with that person. That’s the extent of what I’ve been through,” she laments.

However, with time, Gandhi admits she has learned to not take things to heart. “It’s not because they don’t want me but because the other person is going to make more money. That’s how I learned to work on myself and focus on staying in the lane that takes me to that position. I worked on creating my fan base on social media, so that nobody can use it as an excuse to say that, ‘She is not popular enough or good enough at her craft’. I focussed on these things as they were in my control. Though it might sound weird but that’s how it is. It’s a game. You can either play it or complain,” she shares, adding, “These days, there are lot of artistes who are okay with not being popular and just making meaningful music. And even my priorities are changing as I make a move towards independent music.”