Jasleen Royal on breaking into Bollywood, taking risks, and finding her way

There are no off days for Jasleen Royal. “Every day is a working day for an artist,” the 35-year-old musician says over the phone. But, when she really needs to unwind, you will find her playing video games. “I forget about my real life for a bit.” Escapism, it turns out, is second nature to her. So is longing. “I think I was born with this inherent longing. It’s there in all of my songs.”

Royal—who took the surname as a nostalgic ode to a bakery of the same name her family used to own—is inquisitive, always looking for answers, and her role in the world. She will go down a rabbit hole to understand cosmic theories, and how the universe works, just trying to put things together. “It excites me when I get answers,” the ‘Love You Zindagi’ singer says. This might also be the one thing her elder brother didn’t put her on.

Growing up in a working-class household in Ludhiana, Punjab—in a family with no musical background— Royal’s interest in music wasn’t an anomaly. It traces back to her brother, who introduced her to video games, cricket (which she briefly considered as a career), and learning to drive at the age of 11. When he got into music in school, she followed suit. But long after he’d lost interest, she kept at it. While the elder sibling syndrome has her brother taking credit for all of it (in jest), Royal largely remains self-taught. Curiosity led the way.

Royal knew early on that a career in music meant escaping her town. She managed to get into Delhi University’s Hindu College, and the move upended her musical diet overnight. Raised on Lucky Ali, AR Rahman, Shankar Ehsaan-Loy, and SD Burman, she found herself faking it—listening to The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Matchbox Twenty, just to fit in (a rite of passage for small-town kids). She even roughed up her hair and got bangs, wanting to look like a musician before she’d fully become one. Her bangs are now gone; the music stuck.

Making of an artist 

Royal grew to prominence after the release of her first single ‘Panchi Hojavan’ in 2012. The single won her the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards India in 2013. The following year she got her break in Bollywood with Khoobsurat’s (2014) ‘Preet’. With something real to show for herself now, she made the move to Mumbai.

But it wasn’t that easy. There was a lot of cold-calling involved: to composer Amit Trivedi before eventually working with him, and doing the same with composer Sneha Khanwalkar, lyricist and singer Swanand Kirkire, and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. Royal showed up at Karan Johar’s office and walked out having bagged Baar Baar Dekho (2016). Her story is a lesson for anyone breaking into an industry with zero connections: show up and persevere.

The early Mumbai years were difficult. For starters, Royal didn’t know anyone in the city. She recalls saving money on food just to afford a rickshaw ride to the Dharma office. “I would be very happy if my meetings were around lunchtime,” she laughs, “because then the other person would take me out to eat.” When her song was once turned down for sounding underproduced and not “big” enough, she bet on herself. “I could either have rent money, or invest in the song to get it approved.” She went with the latter, and—at the risk of sounding trite—the rest is history.

On working in a predominantly male industry, Royal doesn’t mince words. “The same rules don’t apply to everyone,” she says. “A man is allowed to behave aggressively, and he will be called passionate. But if a woman does it, she is difficult to work with.” Royal quickly clarifies: “I’m not saying they are villains, but most positions of power are held by men.”

The reset

If you want to really know Royal, press play on her discography—varied enough for everyone to find something. The songwriting process, though, is less romantic: mostly snacks and making fun of personal traumas with her lyricist and friend of 10 years, Aditya Sharma.

Royal weighs every word she says, seemingly cautious of how she will be perceived. Last year, when she opened for British rock band Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour in Mumbai, she was met with a lot of backlash for being off-key. The criticism doesn’t appear to faze her. “I’m like a Daruma doll; it’s never lying on the floor. The harder you punch it, the harder it comes back up.”

Royal has no complaints. She is in a good place currently, prepping for her upcoming tour (the name is still under wraps) in December, after Heeriye—her first tour—in 2023. She has new songs and music videos lined up too, all of which is keeping her busy. Expect to see a version of Royal you have never seen before, someone who is unabashedly herself. “It’s a clean slate.”

Lead image credit: Visual Affairs (Prerna Singh & Vishwam Thakkar)

This article originally appeared in Cosmopolitan India's September-October 2026 print issue.

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