Remo enjoying the fruit of hard work

The singer is pretty excited on receiving this prestigious national award. "I was sleeping till three in the afternoon on that particular day. When I woke up, I saw my cell overloaded with messages and missed calls. I thought there was something wrong, but when I read the messages, I was overwhelmed. Finally, I have got some acknowledgement after so many years of hard work, and that too in the form of Padmashree. It's great," he said. He added that he would thank the government of Goa for the honor in contrary to the criticisms he has been pestering on it till lately for not sending a single letter of appreciation.

He was ahead of his time and his "Ya, Jalwa" tells more than words would say. He knew that it would go down well with the audience though it was so different. The truth was it became a craze among the music lovers. And he was surprised when a hip-hop crowd requested for Jalwa during a performance. However, his career took a setback after the entire member of his band died in an accident a few years ago. His mother also died later. The good news is things are getting better now.

However, this open-minded man is very critical about the so-called talent hunts that are doing rounds in the country. He feels that they are nothing but publicity stunts. Ask him why he is never seen as a mainstream playback singer in spite of his good works in Bollywood, and he has a vivid answer. "I enjoy music, it may be in any form and it's not necessary that it should feature in some film. I have never been desperate to become a playback singer. That was the reason I didn't even go for the premier of Jalwa," he said without a mince of regret on his face.