Mika Singh may be one of Bollywood’s most recognisable playback singers today, but his journey in the Hindi film industry began after he had already made a name for himself in the Punjabi music scene. His breakthrough song ‘Sawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag’ had become a huge hit, allowing him to perform extensively and build a strong financial base even before entering Bollywood.In a conversation with Kapil Sibal on his YouTube channel, Mika looked back at his early days and revealed how his success as a live performer shaped his approach to finding work in Bollywood.He recalled that after ‘Sawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag’ became popular, he started earning Rs 10,000 per show, a significant jump from the Rs 500 he used to make while performing with his elder brother Daler Mehndi’s group.“I wanted to be a music director but my song was a superhit, even though I didn’t sing well. I wrote the song myself,” he recalled.When Mika began approaching the Hindi film industry in 2006, he noticed that many aspiring singers were focused on getting an opportunity with established music directors such as Anu Malik and AR Rahman. Mika, however, had a different strategy.“No one was paying attention towards getting shows. Contestants from shows like Indian Idol were trying to get an opportunity with music directors and would struggle for years. My target was to do maximum shows,” he shared.His confidence was also reflected in the car he drove at the time — a Hummer. Mika recalled that even singer Shaan advised him to avoid arriving in such a luxury vehicle when meeting producers and composers, as it could give them the impression that he was financially comfortable and did not need work.“When I would drive in my Hummer, people would say you won’t get a song like this. They told me you should travel in an auto because a music director might get offended if you are too successful and have a big car. Shaan told me the same thing, ‘Go in an auto. The producer should not get the impression that you are rich. They should feel like you need work’. I said I won’t do that. I will drive in my Hummer. Someone will spot me,” he said.Mika, however, saw the situation differently. At a time when singers would reportedly place advertisements in leading national newspapers to promote themselves, sometimes spending around Rs 4 lakh, he believed his Hummer could serve the same purpose.“My plan was, I will go around in my Hummer, they will get the impression that he is a big singer, even though I wasn’t,” he said.His strategy eventually helped him get noticed. Mika recalled meeting music composer Pritam, although their first interaction came with an amusing misunderstanding. Since Mika was unfamiliar with Pritam’s appearance and had heard several of his Punjabi-influenced Hindi film songs, he assumed Pritam would be a Sikh man named Pritam Singh. He also initially believed Vishal-Shekhar was the name of a single composer rather than a musical duo.When Pritam asked Mika to come in the following day to record a song, Mika deliberately declined, worried that appearing too available might make him seem like he had no work.“He asked to come see him the next day to record a song. I thought if I tell him I am free the next day, he will think I have nothing to do. I told him I am busy, so he said come the day after that. I said yes and that’s how I got ‘Dil Mein Baji Guitar’,” he shared.The song, from ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’, went on to become one of the popular tracks of 2006. Mika reunited with Pritam the following year for ‘Mauja Hi Mauja’ from ‘Jab We Met’, which became another major hit.With back-to-back successful songs, Mika soon established himself as one of the most recognisable voices in the Hindi film music industry.