When you have a look at BombayMami’s Instagram, you see a lot of different colours. Yellow and soft green. Deep red. Blue. Staged as a siren with a bindi made from pearls. In front of a burning horizon, with eight arms just like the Hindu goddess Durga. In a gym, feeding “Hot Boyz.” Or, snowboarding down a mountain slope somewhere in Switzerland dressed in a traditional lehenga. Now, since Friday, there are new visuals on her profile: black, white, and an almost warm grey — the colour scheme of her latest song, Curse.
A few days before the release, we have the chance to talk to the Swiss-Indian singer. When we call her, she’s still a bit sick. She just came back from a trip to New Delhi. Maybe it was the stress. The turbulence. The busyness. Or the joy. For now, at least, she has to recover a bit. But although her nose is a bit stuffy, she’s in a good mood. She’s excited to finally show what she’s been working on. Curse is special. You can hear that. Curse is calm. Heartfelt. With a steady flow. It feels emotional. Personal. A bit different from her previous songs. And yet it doesn’t feel different at all.
BombayMami’s music is a fierce fuse of hip hop and R&B. Of Indian instruments and vocals. Badass and empowering lyrics. A fuse of cultural elements, connecting a contemporary bold styling with playful storytelling. And in this portfolio, Curse feels more like the next step. A development. A glimpse into all the depths the artist has to show. So, while she drinks a hot tea and strolls around in her house in Switzerland, we chat about astrology, retro Bollywood movies, the inspiration behind Curse, and why children are the best audience.
Hi BombayMami, chocolate fondue or cheese fondue?
I would have to say cheese fondue. I love to eat it with bread, potatoes or gherkins. It’s unbeatable.
So, you just came back from India, what was your favourite moment there?
In India, I had two performances. The first one was for the ambassadors during Swiss Art Night. That was really nice. But, the second one was in front of eight hundred kids. This energy was just irreplaceable.
That sounds super wholesome. Could you recognise yourself in the audience as a child?
Yeah, sort of. I guess growing up I never really had people similar to me in terms of race that were doing these types of things that I’m doing now. So, the feeling of being with the kids there, doing what I love and what some of them also aspire to be was quite special. These types of moments are so eye-opening. Moments where I get reminded that what I do has some sort of impact. That I can be an inspiration for these kids. That felt crazy because sometimes, I forget that people see what I’m doing.
On Friday, you released the song Curse. Did you also perform this for the kids?
Yes, I did, and it was amazing! The way they appreciated it was crazy. Adults nowadays always try to play everything way too cool. But the kids were so excited, and they were not afraid to show it either. That just fulfilled me, honestly. Because Curse is definitely one of my favourite songs on my project. And actually, the oldest one as well.
When did you start working on it?
That song was written in 2019, but back then I didn’t release it because I was working on another project and it didn’t fit. But now it’s finally out and I’m very excited because I’ve been holding on to it for so long. It is such a heartfelt, honest song.
The song’s flow is a lot calmer than your previous releases. What inspired that change?
You’re right. It’s funny because the whole album is going to be very calm. The music I’ve been releasing is way more up-tempo than what my upcoming music will be. I think I’ve always had that in me, I just haven’t allowed myself to put it out. Before, it was way more about what the people could like and what they wanted to hear. But now, this project, this album, is finally going to be something that I want to do, what I like, no matter what others think. It’s how I want my music to truly sound like.
Back in 2019, what inspired you to write Curse? An unhappy love? A heartbreak?
Yeah. So, back then, I got out of a four-year-long relationship, and it was the moment I realised that I couldn’t put him first anymore. I feel like I did that for quite a while — putting him on a pedestal. Just trying to always accommodate. Always thinking about him and not about myself. I realised, no, I need to put myself first. If I’m not considering my own feelings, I can’t be a good person. I stayed with this person way too long although things were not going well.
You live and you learn. Writing Curse gave me the opportunity to reclaim my confidence, my power, in a way. I really feel like writing that song showed me that this can’t ever happen to me again.
You live and you learn. Writing Curse gave me the opportunity to reclaim my confidence, my power, in a way. I really feel like writing that song showed me that this can’t ever happen to me again.
The visuals for Curse were all filmed in black and white. What inspired you to do that? And what kind of feeling do you want to create with it?
The whole mood is very ‘70s Bollywood. Back in the day, all the Bollywood movies were black and white. It simply feels like nostalgia. Just as this song feels like nostalgia to me. All my songs have a certain colour theme. And here, the black and white matches perfectly.
It even gives me a retro romantic feeling.
I’m glad you like it. I think that for the algorithm, the black and white is not great. Compared to more colourful videos I’ve posted, you can quickly see the difference. But at the end of the day, I’m convinced that this is one of my strongest songs. I believe in it. Compromising only for the algorithm would be the wrong priority.
What’s your favourite black-and-white Bollywood movie?
There’s one black-and-white Bollywood movie with this snake. I loved it as a child. I think it was called Mughal-e-Azam, from 1960. I’m really bad with names. But in general, when it comes to Bollywood, what I love the most is just the drama, the costumes. The acting is always this melodramatic kind of vibe, exaggerated even. And there’s always so much history bound to these movies, so many little cultural details. Everything is very grand. They never hold back. I just love it.
It’s obviously something I grew up with and kind of learned from. Being mixed race, I feel like there are so many things I’m still learning about my culture. Things that I’m still figuring out. And Bollywood has always been part of that journey, helping me, teaching me.
It’s obviously something I grew up with and kind of learned from. Being mixed race, I feel like there are so many things I’m still learning about my culture. Things that I’m still figuring out. And Bollywood has always been part of that journey, helping me, teaching me.
What do you think about Bollywood and Indian fashion becoming more and more popular in Western culture?
It’s interesting to see because obviously, a lot of people are taking inspiration from South Asian culture. On one side, it’s beautiful to see. But on the other side, I guess there’s always this question about how much do they actually know about the history of things? Because even our jewellery has so much tradition and its own meaning.
For example, women wear so much gold because it’s an act against patriarchy. It’s how the woman can have some sort of wealth for herself. These are little things that people wouldn’t know or that often are overlooked. So, that sometimes feels a bit wrong in some ways. But it's also something that happens with so many things. With so many cultures. For me, it’s just another reason to be more vocal, to be louder.
For example, women wear so much gold because it’s an act against patriarchy. It’s how the woman can have some sort of wealth for herself. These are little things that people wouldn’t know or that often are overlooked. So, that sometimes feels a bit wrong in some ways. But it's also something that happens with so many things. With so many cultures. For me, it’s just another reason to be more vocal, to be louder.
What would your dream fashion/music collaboration look like?
I think Sabyasachi Mukherjee is somebody I would love to work with for an outfit. The designs are incredible. Cultural but still avant-garde and luxurious. Other than that, I think my dream would be to do a Bollywood movie, but make it BombayMami.
That sounds like the perfect mixture of tradition and a modern, feminist take. Do you ever feel a tension between honouring and reinventing?
Yeah. If you want to push boundaries, not everybody will be happy with it, right? You’re going to offend people in certain ways because they don’t like change. They don’t want to see certain things in a new perspective. I always try to do things in a respectful way, but you can’t please everybody at the same time. I think that’s something I kind of grew up with as well. At the first instance, it’s me who’s convinced by what I do. And if people like it, then I’m very, very grateful for that.
On Instagram, you posted a video in which you are talking to your dad on the phone. Are your parents supportive of your music?
My dad has been in so many music videos of mine. He’s becoming, how do you say… my mascot, in a way. My background dancer. He has always been part of my journey. And he’s down to do whatever. He’s a very peaceful guy, but he’s always ready to create some Bollywood drama. It’s really, really cute. So yeah, my parents are very supportive.
Earlier, you said that all your songs have a certain colour theme. In Beggin it’s blue, and you’re staging yourself as a siren. So, I need to know, what is your favourite creature from Swiss or Indian mythology?
I would say the siren is definitely the mythical creature that I always have been drawn to the most. In Indian mythology you have these siren-like beings, these nymphs that are called Apsaras. They are sort of the water goddesses of Indian mythology, who have the power of creation and transformation. They embody harmony between arts, beauty, and spiritual authority. In Swiss culture, there is nothing very ethereal or celestial. I would actually have to research that.
Sounds like if you had to choose an element, it would definitely be water.
It’s so funny, I’m an Aquarius, and my whole life I thought I was a water sign. But I’m not — I’m an air sign!
Do you believe in zodiac signs?
I think it’s an interesting topic. In Indian culture, astrology is very important. If you want to get married, for example, you have to go to the astrologist to basically get an approval. You give them your birth chart and they will compare it with your partner’s. They will see if you are a match or not. It’s still very important for many people. In Indian culture, the whole idea is that everything is interconnected. Nature, time, body — the entire cosmos. There, astrology is a part of nature. It’s a spiritual aspect and can be scientific as well. But I guess it also has become pop culture. And with that, people quickly forget that there is a deep history behind it.
Finally, to come to an end, if you had to pick one item from your childhood wardrobe to wear on stage, what would it be, and how would you style it?
There’s one picture of me when I was a little girl, and I have this big fake fur coat on. It’s pink and, in a way, super bougie. I look like a tiny hip hop queen. I think I would style this now. My next song, I’m going to spill some tea now, is going to have a pink colour theme. So that would be perfect.
