The Kakar twins, singers Sukriti and Prakriti, as part of Equal, a global initiative supporting equality for women in music, are the face of India in Times Square. “New York is our favourite city and a big shout out to the Spotify India team for helping us reach all the way up there,” exults Prakriti.
Friends have been sending them live videos of the billboard flashing their images. “It brings us so much joy and so much pride. Nowhere in the world do you see things advertised and marketed this way, from products and concerts to tech. In our case, we are promoting gender equality,” adds Sukriti, asserting that it’s amazing to be living in an era where mindsets are changing and opportunities for women are growing across countries. “You don’t just feel it’s going to happen, it is happening. People are beginning to understand how important gender equality is.”
The duo’s recent chart-topper Majnu with Mellow D, who has co-composed and co-written the song with The Rish, has garnered over 20 million plus views. It talks about first love and courtship, but gives the classic love story a new spin with its feminine gaze. “There have been songs like Laila from the boy’s perspective, we wanted a Majnu offering the girl’s point of view. It’s something we felt growing up, and today, many girls watching the music video are wondering why they haven’t seen this take in movies and songs before,” beams Sukriti.
What’s interesting is that the sisters are joined by another pair of siblings, Abhishek and Siddharth Nigam, in the music video which adds to its huge draw. Prakriti is quick to point out that there’s nothing serious about the song and that the mood is light. “But in own way, we’re promoting gender equality,” she adds with a laugh.
Earlier this year, the duo collaborated with Amaal Malik for a Hindi recreation of Dua Lipa’s Levitating. The international pop icon had performed the song at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Incorporating Indian instruments like the North-Indian tumbi, the remix version was also a chart-topper, getting the nod from the star singer herself and putting the sisters in the list of global musicians to watch out for.
Sukriti admits that Dua Lipa was an inspiration right from her early songs, and the reason she wrote her first single in 2019. “But I never thought a song like Levitating could be recreated. Even after giving so many interviews, it still feels unreal that her name and ours are on the same soundtrack, with us representing India and our kind of music,” she shares.
It’s been an amazing year for the sisters. On International Women’s Day, Triller, an AI-powered short video application, launched an exclusive anthem, with Sukriti and Prakriti crooning a track titled You Do You Naari. “The song speaks of women, what they like, their ambitions and passions. Triller’s team in India wanted someone who could represent the idea. We recorded it, and the next thing we know, it was trending on the Triller global charts!” Sukriti exclaims.
Prakriti adds, “This year has been dedicated to women empowerment, women supporting women. And we will be happy to support such initiatives.”
She acknowledges that she has always been her own person and the Triller anthem was an experimental passion project for them. “Rapping it was so liberating,” she laughs, saying it made her want to reach out to all those women who are badass in their own ways,” she avers.
And where does their other sister, Akriti Kakar, fit in? “No matter what we are doing, be it composing a song or singing and writing it, everything has to be passed through her. Her feedback is important,” Sukriti asserts.
