I find AR Rehman repetitive: Kumar Sanu (2000 Interview)

I find Rehman repetitive: Kumar Sanu

AHMEDABAD: Kumar Sanu has won the Filmfare award for the
Best Playback Singer
(male) for five consecutive years -- a feat no other
artiste has achieved; and yet, he flays
Filmfare for awarding individuals who he says are "not
even fit to be called singers."

"Today, whoever has money, can launch himself or herself
through one of the television
channels and claim to be a singer. Never mind, if he or
she can actually sing. It was not
so in the good old days, when one had to work hard for
success and thus, those songs
have survived for decades," asserts Sanu.

Sanu claims he refused to sing for A R Rehman -- perhaps
the most popular music
director -- because, "I neither like, nor understand his
music. I find it repetitive. In fact,
his version of the Vande Mataram is the worst thing that I
have ever heard."

He feels that there are lots of loopholes in the national
awards as well. "Chitra was
awarded the National Award for Payalee Chunmun (Virasat).
It was a duet, which she
had sung with me. The awards committee ignored the
vocalist who had sung the major
part of the song," he says.

Sanu feels the trend of using Punjabi folk-pop "has
corrupted Hindi film music. We are
not making films only for the Punjabi audience. Hindi
films are made with a pan-Indian
appeal." But he says "this is a passing phase, just as
there was, a few years back, a trend
to have a Rajasthani folk flavour in Hindi film music,
courtesy Ila Arun and Swapna
Awasthy."

He defends using Kishore Kumar's style: "Even the
legendary Lata Mangeshkar was
thought to be a clone of Noorjahan and Ashaji that of
Geeta Dutt. I am not ashamed to
say that I followed Kishore Kumar, but what really matters
is that whether finally one
can have his or her individual style and carve out a niche
for himself or herself."

Sanu says stories of his rivalry with Udit Narain are a
creation of the press. "As far as
Udit is concerned, there is a healthy rivalry between us.
His son has even sung re-mixes
of my songs," he says.

Sanu, who started as a tabla player, feels rigorous
training in classical music is not
necessary to become a playback singer. "When I enter the
recording room, I forget
everything else. If one is honest, there is no need to
fear," he says.

"Time was, when playback singers tried to identify with
the actors they were singing for.
Today, with the actors and even the name of the films
being finalised at the last moment,
one cannot do so," he says.

"Knowing Salman Khan, I would not identify Ankhon Ki
Gustakhian with him. I would
rather be the hero."

I agree with him.

The thing is, the same can be said about Sanu too...