Singer-songwriter Shalmali says she almost cringes when she is referred to as a singer, because her dream was always much bigger than that.

"My big dream was always to become a musician, so whenever someone calls me a 'singer', I almost cringe. I sing, sure, but I do more than just singing. I write and compose my songs, I do vocal arrangements, I produce tracks, I perform live and I have just finished work as a music director on an indie Marathi film. I am able to do all these because I am a musician and not just a vocalist," asserted Shalmali, while speaking to IANS.

Right now, she is taking baby steps into the independent music scene with singles like "For you" and 'Regular' that she released this month.

"I love to wear many hats instead of limiting my musical career just on adding soul to a lyrical composition as a playback singer," added the artiste who started her career in Bollywood and shot to fame singing "Pareshaan" in the 2012 release, "Ishaqzaade".

She is primarily known for her film hits such as "Daru desi" (Cocktail), "Balam pichkari" (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani"), "Lat lag gayee" ("Race 3"), and "Baby ko bass pasand hai" ("Sultan"), among others, and she had also released indie songs such as "Ruka ruka" and "Kalle kale".