Anushka Manchanda: 'I Was A Pop Star By Accident'

The singer shows off her production chops on “Don’t Be Afraid,” her debut single as Nuka

Through the course of a 45-minute conversation, Mumbai-based singer Anushka Manchanda inevitably begins talking about how “The Universe was hitting me in the head” with signs to name her solo project Nuka. The singer who has flittered from pop group Viva to Bollywood to rock & roll says, “You are right where you’re meant to be.”

But this is no spiel, because Manchanda almost immediately adds, “I know that sounds like some super hippy-dippy shit, but that’s just the way I feel about things. I have to be real.” She may have turned to a more production-centric approach on “Don’t Be Afraid,” her first single as Nuka, but that’s not to say the message doesn’t come through. With the spectral electronic pop song, Manchanda offers a voice of comfort. She says, “I want to make art that lifts you out of this shit.”