MUMBAI: You might have heard her sing for tracks like ‘Tera Rastaa Chhodoon Na’ from the film ‘Chennai Express’ or ‘Lazy Lamhee’ from ‘Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic’. But for the first time, singer Anusha Mani has rapped for the song ‘Gulaabo’ from the film ‘Shaandaar’, which stars Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor.

Music for the track has been composed by Amit Trivedi, and is co sung by Vishal Dadlani and has lyrics penned by Anvita Dutt Guptan.

Mani and Trivedi have known each other since college and have even worked together on previous occasions. “It was a very casual recording as this is the third time that we have worked together. My part in the song- the rap portion is smaller than Vishal Dadlani’s. I was really unsure about rapping, something I told Amit a few times. But he asked me to trust him,” said the singer.

Mani, who comes from a musical family, has been trained in Carnatic music from a young age. Although she initially was not a fan of Carnatic music, she stuck with it, later developing a fondness for the genre. “Everyone including my brother could sing really well, but I was the one who pursued a career in singing,” she said.

Since embarking on her music career, Mani has worked with quite a few big Bollywood names. Her first record studio stint came in the form of a jingle with music composer duo- Sachin Jigar, while her first Bollywood project was ‘Dhoka’ from the film ‘Johnny Gaddaar’ with popular Bollywood composer trio- Shankar Ehsaan Loy.

Mani will next be seen performing at the concert ‘People for Animals with Lucky Ali’ on 18th September, 2015 in Delhi. As an animal lover, she feels that it is important to treat every animal in a respectable manner. “I feel that we, human beings, are really cruel because we ill-treat animals simply because they cannot talk,” she elaborated.

Additionally, she is also collaborating with her husband, Sangeet Haldipur, for an upcoming single.