Bhubaneswar: Singing reality show Dil Hai Hindustani’s runner-up, Barnali Hota has released her version of the sultry item number 'Dilbar' on social media. The métier in this rendition of the song is the Odissi performance that accompanies the beats.

The 18-year-old is seen crooning the cover as the Odissi dancer Roshni Naik, a second year Computer Science student of a local engineering college performs on the track. "I really do not think that fusing a classical art form with Bollywood or western music is derogatory. Rather, I respect the people who have the courage to do it," said Barnali in a chat with Odisha Sun Times.

The music video features Priyanka Chopra's 'Aslaam-e-Ishqum' cabaret song, as well. This is a part of Barnali's #rawvocalsession initiative where she is on a mission to let aspiring singers be aware that to get exposure, one can make use of available resources. In such videos, she does not record the songs in a studio or mixes/masters the vocals; rather, she just uses a mobile phone app to produce her covers.

"On one of my tours in Odisha, I met a few singers, who in spite of their talent expressed their inability to find a platform and finance for themselves. It takes a lot of money to record in a studio, shoot for it, and post-produce the entire project. I realized that in this era of technology, one does not need a professional studio and spend a lot to come with their projects. A smart phone and data pack is all you need," she said.

Barnali was one of the top 6 contestants in the biggest singing reality show on Zee TV, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs in 2011 and was the runners-up of another singing reality show in 2017, Dil Hai Hindustani on Star Plus, where she teamed up with a Mumbai-based band, Euphony.

With her debut in the Bangladeshi film industry last year as a lead playback singer in Bangladeshi art film, she set a milestone. She is, probably the first singer from Odisha to sing in Bangladeshi film industry. She sang in two albums last year: Maa which she says is a tribute to all the mothers and Saare Jahan se Accha, in collaboration with the eminent Odissi dancer Saswat Joshi. She also released one of her albums Aarzoo, which is a remake of an evergreen Bollywood number 'Tere Bina Zindagi Se', originally sung by Lata Mangeshkar.