Kavita Krishnamurthy the nightingale - Page 4

Q: So, initially, were you doing only stage shows?
A: No Apart from shows with Hemantda and , Mannada I also started singing advertising jingles in 14 different languages. A very good friend of my youngest brother was in advertising and when he heard in Bombay, he immediately asked me to sing for his products.

Q: Which was the first jingle you sang? Can you remember?
It was for Amul Spray. Yes, I remember that day very well. Because the Bengali version was being sung by Geeta Dutt. I was so thrilled to meet her that It down and touched her feet. It was Guru Dutts youngest brother who was producing the jingles.

Kavita: I feel emotional about certain songs

Q: After your classical music background how did it feel to do such things?
A: Well, I slowly got used to the commercial mind. It also gave me a sense of confidence as I used to be very crowd -shy.

Q: Were you doing anything else ?
A: Yes, TV programmes. I had already done a few of them in Delhi. Coincidentally, one of the Delhi TV producers got transferred to Bombay and he asked me to participate in the 'Aarohi' and 'Sham-e-Ghazal' programmes. I was very lucky really. Without much effortall these things came my way and I got exposure in the advertising, TV and stage media. Since I was supporting myself that money came in handy.
   But when my father saw that I was serious about pursuing a career in Bombay, he bought this flat for me so that I could move out of my PG digs.

Q: When did you first sing for films?
A: The first time I sang for the screen was for a Bengali film called 'Shriman Prithviraj', for Hemantda. It was only four lines but it was with the greatest Lata Mangeshkar. My life was made!
    My first Hindi song was for 'Kadambarj' but I sang an old Lata Mangeshkar number -'Aayega aanewala. aayega'- which Shabana Azmi sings at a party in the film.

Q And when did you get the first real break?
A: In 1979, for 'Maang Bharo Sajana'. I used to dub for Laxmikant Pyarelal who thought I was some distant cousin of Hema's. The first time there was some emergency and they asked me to help out. Thereafter I did a number of dubbings for them. It was only in'79 that I sang my own number.

Q: Wasn't it depressing dubbing for others and having the final version sung by somebody else?
A: Occasionally I'd feel emotional about certain songs. But this was good for me as a singer. Since I had never really struggled for anything, I thought it was good to know some pain. I think struggle is essential for any artiste
   It was only when my father suddenly died that I realised what life was all about. I was then 20 and for a whole year I became an absolute recluse. That is when Mannada became for me a father-figure.

Q: Then in 1983 came 'Pyar Jhukta Nahin' 

when you really got noticed. What were you doing in between?
A: Apart from singing for a lot of regional films (Bhojpuri, Bengali, Assamese and others), I sang forfilms like'Hum Lajawab', 'Boxer f or R D Burman.

Q: R D Burman? One would think his wife would have a monopoly?
A: Somehow I have never felt that Ashaji or Lataji have prevented others from singing. Panchamda's (R D Burman) assistant, Sapan Chakravarty, had heard me in Calcutta, and he suggested my name to Panchamda. Initially, they wanted me to sing for a Bengali film but that didn't work out and I started singing for Hindi films for them.

Q: What do you have to say to Lata Mangeshkar's observation that the new singers don't work hard enough and that's why they don't make a mark?
A: That's not true. I am sure all of us - Anuradha Paudwal, Alka Yagnik, Sadhna Sargam - work very hard. If we had S D Burman telling us, "I want you to record this song a month from today and I want you to come for rehearsals everyday,- we'd readily do it.
   But today the system is very different. Very often we record the song directly. Otherwise we are called for a rehearsal just the evening before. Earlier they used to rehearse for 15-20 days before the actual recording.
    With institutions like Lataji and Ashaji before us we've had to work much harder. They've set the standards. For the men it's different. Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi - they didn't have any classical training. So the male newcomers feel that if they have a melodious voice they can become singers. For us it's much tougher because of the kind of examples we have before us. It's just that today music directors are not as demanding as they used to be. Money has become a little harder to get. All these things count.

Q: Talking of changing times, why is it that while earlier the singers sang according to the stars they were lending their voices to, today it is difficult, if not impossible, to recognise the star whom the song has been picturised on?
 A: Very often we are not even told for which artiste we are singing. We have to ask for this information. But then just knowing the name doesn't help much. We should be familiar with their voices. For instance, the other day, I recorded a song for Kimi Katkar. She is one of the newer faces on screen and