In an exclusive chat with The Pioneer, Iulia Vantur the Romanian beauty, takes us through her journey of making it big through sheer grit.
Shikha Duggal
A true multihyphenate — Lulia Vantur is en route to global domination — one beat at a time. The melodic and grace in Vantur’s music draw ears, whether it be on stage singing to one of her many hits, or off. She’s changed the way we perceive music in the country, all while giving her fans a platform to showcase their own talent through her popular social media channels.
The soloist gets talking with The Pioneer about her arduous journey from Romania to Tinseltown and making it big through sheer grit.She says, “When I perform these days, only happiness moves in my whole soul. The waves of joy, that energy keeps my senses alive during my performance. It feels so nice to be recognised in a new nation totally! However, to be famous is not my holy grail.”
An embodiment of self-belief, confidence in herself that the sensational singer, a few years ago left Romania, being at the peak of her career while, “People thought that I had lost my mind! I gave up on my fame and status in Romania. I was a news anchor at the most important television channel, I hosted the most popular talent show for 14 seasons, and it was a huge success. I hosted a similar show as Bigg Boss.
I used to do what Salman does now. No one could understand why am I leaving everything and choosing to be a no-name in another country. In fact, I was afraid to leave my hard work behind, years of sacrifices, the popularity I had, but then I understood that my heart needed something else. I have invested so many years in my career, now it was the time to give hundred percentage to my personal life. Another important chapter of my life was starting! It hasn’t been easy at all, it was like a re-evaluation of my whole life, at all levels.
I had to learn to be myself without the fame I have been identified, where everybody in Romania knew who I was and the value I bring along. It was a tricky situation and I started suffering from identity crisis in Tinseltown. But, I’ll never regret the choices I made because I evolved so much in a foreign language. Now, I am a “desi” at heart.”
A tumultuous journey from Romania to Bombay brought us one of the new singers in the industry. To know a tad bit about her country too, she took us on a fanciful journey via telephone, “Romania is a beautiful country, in Europe, with warm and hard-working people, raw landscapes and history. Being the only child — the whole attention of my parents was on me. I grew up with great values and respect. I started working as a model when I was fifteen years old then at nineteen, my television career went kaboom.
For almost twenty years, I was in the mile-high club in my country. I had no connection, and I didn’t know anyone in the television business but I had a lot of enthusiasm and good energy. I started as a news anchor, then got my place at the news journals. I was the only news anchor who was allowed to do entertainment. Spending more time in India, I have fallen in love with this place. I was fascinated by the culture, colours, and music. And one good day when we were all singing in a friendly environment, I have been asked to sing a Romanian song. I was blank, the only song playing in my mind was a carol song I used to sing for my parents.”
It was through Teri Meri’s cover, her singing path started without even being aware of it. It has been a challenging journey for her, it was a whole new road, she had to start from scratch, to learn the ABCs.
The energy that’s infectious, and now, she’s expanding her horizons. “My purpose was to integrate into a new identity. This showbiz wasn’t taking me seriously. It took so many years for me in this industry to connect with renowned musicians personally, wasn’t easy.
I had to make them familiar with my work ethics so that I can do playback. Finally, a few of them started to discover my talent in a professional way. Even I spent time building confidence in my voice for my listeners. Salman Khan was the first man who was convinced by my flair. The second gentleman was Himesh Reshammiya who gave me my first single! Salman’s family Alvira and Atul saw my delight in dancing. Mika Singh took me on my first international singing tour.”
Still, all of this didn’t come easy to her. She had her fair share of challenges and she narrated, “There were many who laughed at me, called me names, and even suggested me to give up on singing. Hardly, they didn’t understand the struggles I have been through. All of this for a while, in this industry, turned me mentally low. Things are changing for me now, influencers are fun to work with these days.
They are trending. But trolling doesn’t stop! Whatever was happening back here in the country, was affecting my “image” at my birthplace. I was viral in Romania for all the wrong reasons! Due to cultural differences, everything was misinterpreted. My mother couldn’t handle my humiliation, it was bothering me back here in India. Because I chose to stay low profile, assumptions were being made about me. This was costing me my depiction.”
On the success of her recent track, she told, “It was an iconic song, beautifully sung by the legendary Asha Bhosle whom I have always admired and respected. I went to Sajid’s studio, to record another song while he wanted to hear how my voice would sound on the remix he made! I didn’t know the lyrics, or the tune properly but he guided me well. The thing was, he fooled me and it was the actual recording session that was happening.”
