Indian K-Pop Star Sriya Lenka, band Blackswan eye Bollywood chance: We're waiting to be part of a Hindi film

K-Pop star Sriya Lenka and her girl band Blackswan's pitch comes at a time when many K-Pop stars in South Korea are increasingly transitioning into film roles.

Indian K-Pop star Sriya Lenka and her girl band Blackswan say they are waiting to be part of Bollywood. “I am ready and waiting to be part of a Hindi film,” Lenka tells us as her Senegalese bandmate Fatou expresses desire to dance and perform action in a Bollywood film. Lenka’s Brazilian bandmate Gabi says, “If they need foreigners to be part of the ensemble Nvee [from the United States] and I are ready.” Their Bollywood pitch comes at a time when many K-Pop stars in South Korea are increasingly transitioning into film roles.

Sriya Lenka

Blackswan - the first non Korean-K-pop girl group, made headlines with its maiden album That Karma in 2023. The quartet - Sriya Lenka, Fatou, Gabi and Nvee are now back with their second EP: Roll Up in collaboration with BTS’ Butter producer Rob Garimaldi and Kany who is known to be Beyonce’s choreographer.

The foursome describes Roll Up as the “ultimate girl crush anthem”. Asked what has changed between their first EP and the second, Nvee says, “From That Karma to Roll Up we have levelled up in terms of dance, vocals and confidence.” “We are more in sync with each other since we had to work on that aspect,” the 25-year-old admits.

Blackswan sings mainly in Korean with a mix of English. The band members say they bring their own unique cultural sensibilities into their compositions. With no Koreans in the K-Pop band, the girls have been asked if their music can even be categorised as K-Pop.

To such questions, Lenka says, “The language of music is universal. We don’t need to be from the country of origin to be K-Pop artists. We all come from different nationalities but we are not only representing our heritage but Korean as well. We sing in Korean, we promote Korean music and we also represent the musical cultures of Korea and our own. We appreciate the genre and the contribution of all those artists who have made it what it is today.”

In an industry that until recently was made up of only Korean artists, Blackswan may have well spawned a trend. A five-member British boy band is soon set to make its K-Pop debut. What is behind this global love for K-Pop? Fatou says, “The unique aspect of K-Pop is that it creates a sense of belonging among performers and listeners. There is a fun factor that you cannot find anywhere else. Then there is eye-catching choreography and melodies.”

She adds: “The whole process of training, living together as a group, sharing our joys and sorrows as we create a project. When we present the same all those memories of what each of us goes through binds us together, that is the X-factor.”

The competition within the K-Pop ecosystem, however, is difficult to navigate. New rookie groups launch faster than one can sing a note and as many bow out of the race. What does Blackswan do to re-invent and stay ahead of the curve? The girls say: “Our competition is with our own selves. The idea is to be better than our last song. We don’t like to compare ourselves with other groups.”