★ “I come from Indore, a small town. When I came to Mumbai, I didn’t know anybody, I was an absolute newcomer who was ready to do all the hard work required to become a playback singer. But when I came here, I was fortunate enough to have met Salman Khan sir in the first week of me coming to Mumbai. So, that kind of protected me from the struggle that I would have had to do otherwise. As soon as I met him, he told me that I would sing a song in his film. But for Salman sir to belive in somebody who was an outsider and give me a chance was a very big thing,” says Palak, who sang Laapata (Ek Tha Tiger; 2012) in the first couple of years of coming to Mumbai.-Palak Muchhal