Shiraz Uppal has to be, by far, one of the most underrated musicians in the country today. Always one to keep a low-profile, Uppal's music has always carried forth a sense of 'substance'; with melodies that are gentle, uncluttered and genuine.

From 'Tera Tay Mera', 'Jhuki Jhuki' and 'Mann Ja Vay', his songs include a lyrical sincerity that are backed with vocals which always manage to betray a sense of deep earnestness…Shiraz's music is anything but 'typical'.

And recently, he's recorded a single - 'Roya Re'- for a Bollywood movie called Dhokha, which bears Shiraz's signature mellowed-out-pop, keeping-it-real sound.

Speaking with Instep, Shiraz gives us the low-down on his experience in India, working with the Bhatts, his source of inspiration - A.R Rahman and his fourth album, which is due to be out in a few months.

Instep: Why do you think Bollywood is so encouraging of Pakistani music? They have brilliant playback singers themselves…why do they feel the need to pick out talent from Pakistan?

SU: Bollywood openly praises Pakistani artistes and holds them in high esteem - they don't happen to be prejudiced and/or biased in praising us musicians. And that is one of the main reasons as to why they've given us so many chances and opportunities to work with them. Understand that there happens to be a huge void regarding pop music in India, plus our compositions are very fresh and different from their pop tunes. In addition, they also understand what the commercial value of our artistes entails - I mean they could have easily signed on any other Indian singer, spending far less money than what they spent on my song, 'Roya Re'.

Instep: What are you currently up to? What's in the pipeline?

SU: Well, a Bollywood film director, Akash Khurana, has signed an agreement with me to include my track 'Mann Ja Vay' (of my album Jhuki Jhuki) in his film Life On Line. In addition, I've had pretty useful meetings with well-known music directors Pritam and Mithoon and both expressed their desire to include my songs in their movies - the nitty-gritty's of which are currently being settled. And alongside, I'm working on my fourth album.

Instep: Think you'll work with A.R Rahman again in the near future?

SU: Yes of course, I'm still in touch with him and he's always been such a great source of inspiration for me. He definitely likes my voice and that is the reason he used my vocals in 'Shakalaka Baby'. I don't mean to praise myself or sound pompous, but Rahman really anticipated the fact that I'll make my mark in Bollywood. The Bhatt camp in India really is famous for using Pakistani talent in its productions, but recently they've been getting threats for recruiting talent across the border. Likewise, Rahman does feel a little insecure about promoting his Muslim brethren from Pakistan, and therefore he's never experimented with any other singer after me. Although the Indians respect and value us, yet at the same time they're apprehensive about the fact that we may wind up dominating their industry. But coming back to your question, yes, hopefully I do intend to work with Rahman soon.

Instep: 'Mann Ja vay' is a lovely number, what was your inspiration behind it? Also, the song's video is very current - how come it was shot only recently, considering your third album's been out for a while now?

SU: Nothing really inspired me - it was just an expression of what was within…I always end up making melodies that are soulful and which are close to my heart. Yes the video was shot in June this year in Karachi, by the duo of Sohail Javed and Abrar, who did a wonderful job. Actually the video was planned out a couple of times before, and different directors did work on its plot and concept, but for some reason it could not get a final shape. The reason why the video was also released now is because my fans apparently love the single - so I thought I just had to get the video out sooner than later.