Posted:
On age:
I will answer your questions if they are about me and not about my age. Age is just another year gone by - a mere birthday. It means nothing! I hope that this interview is about music and the wonderful time I have had with so many wonderful people!
I have worked for over 65 years now. If you have done your homework and are willing to discuss my career, I would love to answer your questions!"
On today's music:
"Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are doing some nice songs. Anu Malik has also done some good work over the years. But otherwise, it is the sound that has improved tremendously since our times.
But that's more to the credit of the arrangers and therefore with the packaging, right? We have some excellent instrumentalists today. But what's the use of such talent? Arrangements minus a good composition mean nothing! The lyrics too have degenerated so much...Look, music is dictated by the kind of films being made, which is decided by the filmmakers. It's a demand and supply situation."
On which singers he appreciates:
"I think Sonu Nigam is very good, he is equipped with all the knowledge needed for a singer, is keen about doing good work and puts his heart into singing and understanding what he has to sing. Shreya Ghoshal is very good.
A good singer like Udit Narayan has few takers. Why do you think a singer of the calibre of Kavita Krishnamurthi (Subramaniam) hardly records? It's a lie that it is because she is not based in Mumbai!"
On Mohammad Rafi:
I sang classical songs better than others, but soon came a time when I was called for every kind of song along with Rafi. The rest were all great singers, but had their limitations. Rafi and I could sing everything, and he was such a gentleman. He was a better singer than me, and I will say this - that no one came even close to him! He deserved everything he got! We had a great understanding and it was never about one-upmanship.
Question: If Rafi, Kishore, Mukesh and he had all been active in today's scenario, would this decline [in music] had happened, and how would they have taken it?
We would have very, very nobly retreated! Today our kind of singers are not needed. How could we have sung a mukhda with the word Saala in it? We could never have been a part of such indignities!"
Source: http://filmidialogue.tumblr.com/post/5344961192/manna-dey-2009
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