Singer, Actor, Anchor-Emcee,
Poet, Performer par excellence Pankhuri Awasthi, the multi-faceted daughter of
Sapna Awasthi (who delivered iconic superhit Hindi songs such as ‘Chhaiyya Chhaiyya’
picturised on Shah Rukh Khan and Malaika Arora Khan), has changed her name to
Kenisha. Kenisha raps under the moniker ‘BomBaeb’.
Talking about her new name,
Kenisha says, “My new name Kenisha means ‘beautiful’, ‘pure’ and ‘prosperous’.
My new name defines me to a tee in one single word and that’s essentially what
a name should do.”
Kenisha is a singing sensation
with drop dead gorgeous looks; beauty with brains who takes up social causes
such as rape, Indo-Pak border strife and world change; a poet who wants to
change playback singing in Indian cinema; a non-conformist who wishes to make
Nikki Minaj style of ‘rap’ singing popular in India and become the female
version of trailblazers Honey Singh and Baadshah as she charts a new trail.
Elaborating on the name change, she says, “I wanted to be unique and didn’t
want to share my name with anyone else in the entertainment and events world.
My name has to be in sync with my prime attributes.”The new name was
necessitated by the presence of another TV actor who had the same name even
though Kenisha is into much more elements in showbiz.
As a spoken word artiste, Kenisha
is soon planning to release ‘A Border Drawn In Blood’ which is not about
violence but all about peace and harmony. “I strongly believe in democracy,
freedom of speech and expression. I believe in human rights, animal rights and
gender rights and I believe in co-existence of man, animal and nature in
perfect harmony,” she avers.
Kenisha, who debuted with Girish
Kumar in a hit Bollywood romantic film ‘Ramaiya Vastavaiya’, directed by Prabhu
Deva and produced by Kumar S. Taurani, is known more in event management
circles and youtube channels than in Bollywood.For instance, multi-talented
Kenisha is a trained singer in both Western and Hindustani classical music
genres. She is an alumni of the prestigious True School of Music which is
affiliated with The Manhattan School of Music, New York. She has taken private
lessons from renowned voice culturist Jennifer D’Souza. She has learnt
Hindustani classical under the Kumar GandharvaGharana followed by enrolling in
the prestigious Gyan Ashram music school.
Kenisha’s slam poem
#RapAgainstRape went viral worldwide and was featured on BBC, Vogue, Marie
Claire, Huffington Post and all leading TV channels and publications. Thus
kickstarting her music career with a bang! “My YouTube channel is growing by
the hour and is hugely popular and loved thanks to my distinct style of
singing, glamorous appearance and highly creative videos most of which I
conceptualise and direct myself, “she says.
Since the age of 7, Kenisha had a
penchant for singing and performing on stage and in events. Music is her life
and she loves expressing herself and writing her own songs. After finishing
college.she auditioned for STAR CJ and soon after bagged a hugely popular show
which she co-hosted alongside VJ Andy. Post this, she hosted a fashion based
show on UTV Stars called Style Addict. She is the only emcee who has
simultaneously worked with top TV networks such as Channel (V), UTV Stars and
UTV Bindassas an anchor as well as celebrated as a Youtube music sensation and
featured on BBC London, Canada AM , Huffington Post Live and so so on.
During her anchoring stint on
Channel (V) a casting director in TIPS saw her and auditioned her for the role
in ‘RamaiyaVastavaiya’. Her stunning looks and talent fetched her the
‘negative’ lead role in the film. The film happened without intent and it was a
surreal experience. She got several offers to play ‘dumb bimbette’ roles but
she refused all of them.
Kenisha is spontaneous and has
very good communication skills. She was an advertising student with a flair for
languages – she knows English, Hindi and also Urdu having read (Saadat Hassan)
Manto’s works. She believes she is blessed with an incredible gift of the gab.
“I combine my glamorous looks with natural wit and spontaneous humor to uplift any
event – be it corporate, celebratory or entertainment. With over 500 live
events to my credit, I have the experience to handle any kind of audience, in
any numbers and for any kind of an occasion which is coming in as very handy
with respect to my singing shows now too since now shows singers are required
to be full-blown performers and not just mere vocalists. My USP is my
versatility as a performer. I do singing and dance shows with my troupe. I am a
popular TV Host, a celebrated YouTuber and a spoken word artiste,” says
Kenisha.
After the global success of
#RapagainstRape, Kenisha came back with an ode to the modern day woman titled
Modern Woman – Version 2016. The rap track aims to unveil the mystery of who
and what a modern woman is all about while celebrating the evolution of women
through the ages.
The video, inspired by American
stand-up comedian and social critic George Carlin’s ‘I’m a modern man’,
explains the very many attributes of a modern age woman: “A modern woman is a
tomboy, a killjoy, a jaywalker, a smooth talker, a seductress and yet a damsel
in distress. “I’m in sync but outlandish/ I’m a feminist who loves men/ I’m old
school yet a modern great/ I’m fragile but strong willed/ I’m no sinner, I’m no
saint/ High on life but not on drugs…”
Last Independence day, Kenisha
came up with the Independence Rap #Winyourfreedom. “I wanted to tell people –
let no one else decide your freedom. It is your right to be truly YOU. Claim
who you are break yourself free from judgments, social diktats, expectations or
societal norms. Win your freedom today! says Kenisha.
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