NEW DELHI - Starting out, Indian singer Prateek Kuhad gave himself one year to make it. He is still no stranger to self-doubt - but now even Barack Obama is a fan of his heartbreak-inspired songs.
"He is one of the few personalities in our generation who has got a fairly clean image, is one of the good presidents that the world has seen," he said. Kuhad had a comfortable upbringing in the northern Indian desert city of Jaipur before studying maths and economics at New York University."I gave myself a year. I was ready to quit - I knew I could either land a job or study further if my music career didn't take off," he said.
Not being dependent on record-label executives has helped him break into an industry where"there have been only a certain kind of pop stars, and primarily white people".