Tell us about your new album...
The essence is bhangra pop in all songs except one, which is in English. This song is dedicated to all the beautiful Indian women. I believe that our Indian women deserve a song all to themselves, they have proved to the world that this country is home to all the beautiful women. It was not just the physical beauty but the inner beauty that inspired me.

Is this album in any way different from your earlier albums?
I think the different musical styles that I have incorporated, like the Arabic style, make it different. For the past seven years I have been living in Dubai, so I get influenced by the places I visit. There is one song that is absolutely traditional, that is about Punjab. It talks about the beauty and the love which exists in Punjab-this I haven't done before.

Your videos are very different from the rest. Who directs them?
They are directed by Simon Fellows, who is a good friend of mine. We met about eight years ago in London. He is very talented and he doesn't understand a word of Punjabi, which goes to show that music breaks all barriers. He gets the feel of the song through the music.

Don't you think that bhangra pop is on a downslide?
Well, it is still kicking! Yeah, I think it has reached the maximum height that any music from a culture can reach. It has filtered into Indian film music as well.

When you are choosing a song, do you have any inkling which one is a potential hit?
Yes, we have a gut feeling, that hmmm, this has got something in it. It is very difficult. If we knew how to make a hit, every song would be a hit. The audience is very unpredictable. I love playing the songs to youngsters, who are my base audience, and slowly that points to one particular song. In the last album, it was the song "Ishq". The one previous to that, it was "Gal Ban Gayee". Then we make a video for that song.

Why hasn't any Indian artiste been able to break into the international charts as yet?
We would love to break into the international charts. I have tried to get an international deal, but none of the international companies have shown interest. I don't know the reason for that. We approached EMI and Virgin to take it to a larger scale, to play our videos on MTV International, but unfortunately we never got feedback on that. Our music is no less than international music.

Which international artiste would you like to sing with?
Michael Jackson. I am a great fan of his. In fact, I might get an opportunity to sing in front of him at the Bollywood Film Awards at New York in April.

Your fave Indipop band?
Euphoria is good. I like Silk Route, too.

What do you like to do apart from singing?
I love astronomy, it is my passion. I have two telescopes at home. Then I love flying. I have friends who are instructors, they have given me a few unofficial lessons. So whenever we go up, they let me fly! And that is not legal!