Picture Gallery-No comments Allowed! - Page 43

How does it feel to complete 26 years in the industry? Exciting. The industry has been good to me. I've had great teachers. I've learnt a lot here. Every day has been a new experience. Isn't it a strange condolence that your son Siddhant is getting into music now? Yes it is, but as a father I'm proud of him. Siddhant is making his debut in a Marathi film under composer Anil Mohile. My entire family is connected to art..my wife Hema is a pianist, my father- in-law Ashok Kumar Saraf was the owner of Melody Makers. My daughter paints. Were you skeptical about your son? Nope. I wasn't against him pur- suing singing. I wanted him to begin his career sensibly, rather than hastily. He's 13. He is learning classical music. I didn't want him to figure on reality shows. I don't support the con- cept. I don't mind if he wants to cut his own album or if wants to playback. Why are you against reality shows? Such shows only garner TRPs. The organisers don't care about the kids.. winners behave like Michael Jackson and Mohammad Rafi. They can't take failure.. and that element of jealousy shows. Was becoming Amitabh Bachchan's voice a boon or a bane? Most definitely a bane! Mr Amitabh Bachchan is my inspi- ration. I always wanted to imitate him. I used to practise till I got his voice right. I used to sing Rang barse on stage often. Everyone was amazed at the way I imitated him. How did you start singing for him? Laxmikant-Pyarelal had heard me singing. They often called me to the recording studios. They called me to Mehboob studio to record my voice for a film. Excited, I ran to the studio without knowing the details of the song. When I reached the studio, I found I had to sing for Amitabhji. Laxmikant Pyarelal were quite impressed with me. They made me sing more songs for him. There was a controversy over Bappi Lahiri claiming that he is the voice of Amitabh Bachchan. Actually- today, we're both singing for Bhoothnath. He has sung for Mithun Chakraborty and I for Amitabhji. Which is your favourite Bachchan song? I love Jumma chumma from Hum. It established me as a playback singer.I also like Meri makhna from Baghban, Sona sona from Major Saab and Shava shava from Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham. Jaya Bachchan and Abhishek were present for the recording of Meri makhna. Abhishek told me, "This is the best song you have sung for pa." It's said that you designed your house in Goregaon and you're also design- ing holiday homes. Yes. I guess it's a part of my cre- ativity. I was always interested in interior designing. My father designed the house and the build- ing we live in. I was interested in construction. I always wanted to own a bunga- low by the river or by the seaside. I'm a nature lover. Few of my architect friends and I I decided to try our hands at interiors. The response has been good. Any last words? Nothing except even now com- posers offer me only Amitabh Bachchan's songs. I am his voice..but my identity as a singer is lost.

D iverse thoughts engulfed my mind, listening to a Mohammed Rafi CD, when the sonorous strains of the immortal Noorjehan-Rafi duet from Jugnu, Yahan badla wafa ka (1947) wafted through. It was 60 years ago that he sang this duet with Noorjehan...only for her to migrate to Pakistan soon after. The battle of the crooners While reading Kishore Kumar's biography Method in Madness by Derek Bose, I came across a sentence wherein he con- tends, "…in 1969, Kishore Kumar displaced Mukesh, Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mehmood and Man- na Dey at one stroke with Arad- hana, and since then, ruled as the indisputable king…" It may be therapeutic, even prof- itable for an author to place his biographical subject on a pedestal. But anyone with moderate knowl- edge of the subject would dismiss such a claim as preposterous. It is not that Aradhana or the Burmans had rescued Kishore from obscurity He had at least one . hit every year preceding Arad- hana (1969). If in 1968 there was Mere saamnewali khidki mein (Padosan), there was also Yeh dil na hota bechara (Jewel Thief) in 1967. In 1969 itself, Kishore had three other solos which were equally well-received—Mere naseeb mein (Do Raaste), Wo shaam kuch ajeeb thi (Khamoshi) and Tum bin jaaun kahan (Pyaar ka Mausam). Long before Aradhana, Talat Mehmood had faded into oblivion: his last major hit was Jahan Ara in 1964. From 1964 to 1969, he had sung just ten songs. Mukesh had been identified with the voice of Raj Kapoor, whose acting career faded after Sangam (1964). Nevertheless, a study I undertook, threw up some incredible statistics: in the five years preceding Aradhana, Mukesh sang 138 songs. In the five years that followed, he sang 139 songs. Between 1970 and '76, he even picked up three Filmfare Awards! Manna Dey was identified with Raj Kapoor and Mehmood...was the foremost choice for the classi- cal and qawwali numbers. He won the Filmfare Award for Mera Naam Joker in 1971. From 1970 to 1980, Rafi sang 1258 songs; Kishore 1266. If 1969 is tak- en into consideration, Rafi's out- put is higher. He sang 190 songs and Kishore 20. The decline The decline in Rafi's songs can be attributed to Shammi Kapoor, Johnny Walker, Dilip Kumar and Rajendra Kumar's deserting film careers, the decline in OP Nayyar, Ravi, Shankar-Jaik- ishen and Chitragupta's compo- sitions (they contribute 25 per cent of Rafi's Hindi film songs), RD Burman's ascendancy and after Padosan, Kishore Kumar's high concentration on singing. Before subscribing to Bose's view, give an ear to Rafi's reso- nance in his last Filmfare and National Award-winning song Kya hua tera vaada. Rafi's diver- sity ingrained him as the monarch of Hindi playback. None of this detracts Kishore Kumar as a singer. Remember Rafi was trained in classical music but Kishore wasn't. Even today, not a day passes without Rafi's songs being played. FM stations too, remember to play them when they take some time off from playing inane remixes.

B ack in the 1990s when the pop scene in India was still very nascent, one of the names out of the handful that stood out was Shibani Kashyap's. This Delhi girl made a splash with her debut album Ho Gayi Hai Mohabbat in 1998. We remember her svelte self featured in the video of the title track — as a model who falls in love with a blind boy, played by co-singer Aslam. It became a raging hit, playing 24/7 on TVs, in autorickshaws and on teenagers' boom- boxes all over the country . Nine years, three albums and five film scores later, the singer-performer-composer is plan- ning to release another album. Yet, the reality check is that the 32-year-old is now only a fad- ing face in the public consciousness. We ask her if that bothers her. Why do we hear you less often than we should? I'm more into travelling and performing live now. I didn't want to become just another play- back voice. In the last couple of months, things have started getting better. I have my hands full with films such as Woodstock Villa, Sunday and Come December. I'm also on the verge of completing my next album. I'm composing the music and I'll have different singers singing on the album besides me. Bappi Lahiri is one. It should release by September. Why such a big break after Zinda? Actually I've been getting a lot of work after I , was nominated for a magazine's Best Debu- tante Music Composer Award. People started recognising me as a singer-composer. Other- wise, for some bizarre reason, everyone used to think I was only the voice behind the face. I remember, after Sajana aa bhi jaa, some thought I was only a model who'd featured in that song. No one really accepted the fact that I'm also a singer. But I didn't get bogged down by the initial rejection. I've settled well into the framework now after almost eight years of struggle. I can at least claim that I'm a self-made woman. You wanted to sing for Rani Mukherji? Yes. I want to. We both have a husky voice but that doesn't mean I cannot sing for other actresses. Why do you think it's harder for female composers to survive? I think it is a mindset. When they hear a woman sing, they accept that but when they're told that the same woman has also composed the song, they raise an eyebrow. Trust me, I'm enjoying being the only female composer in the music industry today The adulation and atten- . tion are greater. How has your unconventional voice affected your career? Only positively I agree I don't have a conven- . tional high-pitched voice. But my voice has a huge throw. People don't want the typical voice all the time. In retrospect, what went wrong with your career? I agree I've not been too prolific but nothing's gone wrong with my career. I wanted it to be like this. You're young only once in your life- time. I've chosen to enjoy my life to the full. I travel, do stage shows, sing and compose. I think over-exposure kills. I don't want 50,000 songs. I'm happy with what I have. What next? I'm planning to open a state-of-the-art music academy by next year. The curriculum of my academy will focus on grooming singers to face the industry . rachana.dubey@hindustantimes.com

H e made Samantha Fox dance to his tune a decade ago. Now, composer-singer Bappi Lahiri, one of the first to use disco tunes in mainstream Mumbai cinema, has joined hands with the Jackson Five for a song that will be recorded in India. Lahiri is excited about the project, which was finalised recently. "The Jackson brothers are excited about the project and we have some major plans after recording this song," says Lahiri. The Jackson Five intend to come to India in July to record the song. "I was in Hollywood to release Rajashree Chowdhury's album Kabi- ta, which I had composed. She's the wife of yoga exponent Bikram Chowdhury. The Jackson brothers were present at the party and approached me after hearing my com- positions," he says. The English version of the song will be written by the Jackson brothers, while Lahiri will write and sing the Hindi version. "I haven't spoken to a producer yet, but plan to use the song in a Hindi film," he adds. The Jackson Five have urged him to give the song a disco feel. Lahiri also wants to give it an R&B flavour, keeping in mind the band's populari- ty in the 1980s. "We have plans to work together after the song is recorded on a larger scale. Before that we'll perform live in Mumbai in October. It will be a like a comeback tour for them," he says. In January, frontman Jermaine Jackson announced the reunion of the group that disbanded in 1990. Though the band is called Jackson Five, it has only four members now — Marlon, Jermaine, Tito and Jackie. Their most famous sibling Michael Jackson is of course no longer a part of the band. Lahiri, who has given innumerable hits as a compose and a singer — the latest being the title track of Guru — is loaded with projects. He will sing for Amitabh Bachchan in Bhootnath besides composing three songs for Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay. "Last year has been great for me. I am excited about singing for Amitabh Bachchan again," says he. Lahiri has also joined hands with old friend B Subhash for the film Jhoom, which will be directed by B Subhash's daughter, Sweta, and is also scoring for Pehlaj Nihalani's Khushboo. In Jhoom, Lahiri has gone back to his style of mixing disco with Indian music...he has roped in Adnan Sami to sing for him. rghosh@hindustantimes.com