His occasional tryst with Bollywood has always spelt success, but Mohit Chouhan’s latest track, the chartbuster Masakali in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi 6, has sealed his reputation.

Although his previous hit, Tum se hi in Jab We Met, still features on pop charts, Masakali’s success tastes a lot sweeter to Chouhan who was the lead singer of the 1990s band Silk Route. “Most of my hits, including Dooba dooba in Silk Route’s debut album, have been softer, more romantic numbers, but Masakali has a groovy feel, which should hopefully break the mould for me,” he says.

Chouhan confesses the song has been a bit of hard work. The lyrics and the music needed a switch in notes and “some breathless singing”, but the effort has paid off. “I have worked with AR Rahman in the past on Rang De Basanti’s Khoon chala and was more than happy to work with him again.”

While the Delhi-based singer admires the southern genius, he says Bollywood music industry too is experimenting a lot. “Silk Route’s second album had a song called Morni, which had a folksy pop influence. Though connoisseurs thought it was a fabulous experiment, the song didn’t do well commercially. But these days, the audience’s taste has matured. And with music directors willing to take risks, the time is right for the music industry to grow.” Chouhan has moved base to Mumbai and is currently working on a solo album. Bollywood isn’t his destination but we’ll surely hear him soon in Imtiaz Ali’s next, he promises.