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TALK
Reinvention Girl
Premankur Biswas
Kolkata, March 23: In 1987, when female playback singing in Bollywood was largely about Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle and an occasional Runa Laila, a young girl from south Mumbai was given a big banner break by the composers Laxmikant Pyarelal in the mega-budget Shekhar Kapur film, Mr. India. Eyebrows were raised, questions asked, all to be silenced by the strains of a voice that was to dominate all charts that year. Kaate nahi katti was a chartbuster and Alisha Chinai with her biggest hit till then, an overnight sensation.
Twenty years and several avatars later, Alisha Chinai is on a mission. She is touring the country to find the voice of India. "Years ago when I was struggling in Bollywood I would wish for a platform for my talent. I got my break in films like Mr. India and Tarzan, but I know how hard it is for an outsider to be even heard in this industry. Which is why I feel an endeavour like Indian Idol is important. I want to be a mother figure for these new talents," says Alisha, in Kolkata as one of the judges of the popular reality show.
However, when one thinks of Alisha, a matronly mother figure is the last thing that comes to mind. The self-proclaimed desi Madonna has after all reinvented herself repeatedly over the years - trying everything from the brazenly sexual in Bombay Girl, cavorting in bed with Milind Soman and a giant snake in one of her Made In India videos to even the angelic Baby Doll image. " I believe in reinvention. I'm a versatile artist and my image has to project that aspect of my personality. So if today I am the innocent girl next door, tomorrow I will seduce my listeners with my diva act. The fact that I have been so regular with my makeovers, is probably the secret of my success," claims Alisha.
Success, it would seem, have come back knocking. In the recent past, the singer has given audiences mega hits like Kajra Re and Aaj Ki Raat, of the films Bunty Aur Babli and Don respectively, with the trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composing both the numbers. Her singing in Dhoom 2, though not as popular as the other two, nevertheless managed to return her in the public frame. The current buoyancy in her career, too, she admits, "is a result of studied deliberation, where I have measured everything I have done".
Her makeovers might have been constant, but they were also punctuated with prolonged bouts of dormancy. Wasn't there ever the fear of fading away from the collective public memory? "I believe that true talent never fades away. I'm confident that my admirers will remember me for my voice and not by the number of songs I sing. The breaks that I take away from the limelight helps me become more aware of my surroundings. Being in constant limelight is blinding sometimes," says the singer. "Like any other normal person, I do things that can be called regular. I read, cook, travel, shop and of course spend time with near and dear ones. In a profession like ours we tend to lose touch with people who matter, people just drift apart," claims Alisha.
So would she say that her estrangement with long time collaborator composer Biddhu who gave her hits like Made in India, is a result of 'drifting apart'. "There is no estrangement. We have just moved on. Biddhu is doing different things with his career and so am I. For me Biddhu will always be the person who gave me my career's biggest hit," smiles a bemused Alisha.
Friends may have moved on but what about foes? Alisha Chinai seem to be taking them head on, or at least rubbing shoulders with them. Some years back, her co-judge in the Indian Idol show, the composer Anu Malik was accused of molestation by Chinai. It seems too much of a coincidence but Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, two of the judges in American Idol, too are often shown to be at loggerheads before one proposes to the other on live television. If the producers of Indian Idol 3 have the same stunt in mind for Chinai and Malik, the lady is not willing to give it away. "Oh that incident happened ages ago. I have moved on," says Alisha. Nothing, she insists, will matter any more, not even touring the country with a person she wasn't even comfortable being with in a same room. "As a professional in this field for over twenty years I have learnt a big lesson. You have to move on no matter what it takes." In her case, it might be moving till the next avatar.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=228174
Reinvention Girl
Premankur Biswas
Kolkata, March 23: In 1987, when female playback singing in Bollywood was largely about Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle and an occasional Runa Laila, a young girl from south Mumbai was given a big banner break by the composers Laxmikant Pyarelal in the mega-budget Shekhar Kapur film, Mr. India. Eyebrows were raised, questions asked, all to be silenced by the strains of a voice that was to dominate all charts that year. Kaate nahi katti was a chartbuster and Alisha Chinai with her biggest hit till then, an overnight sensation.
Twenty years and several avatars later, Alisha Chinai is on a mission. She is touring the country to find the voice of India. "Years ago when I was struggling in Bollywood I would wish for a platform for my talent. I got my break in films like Mr. India and Tarzan, but I know how hard it is for an outsider to be even heard in this industry. Which is why I feel an endeavour like Indian Idol is important. I want to be a mother figure for these new talents," says Alisha, in Kolkata as one of the judges of the popular reality show.
However, when one thinks of Alisha, a matronly mother figure is the last thing that comes to mind. The self-proclaimed desi Madonna has after all reinvented herself repeatedly over the years - trying everything from the brazenly sexual in Bombay Girl, cavorting in bed with Milind Soman and a giant snake in one of her Made In India videos to even the angelic Baby Doll image. " I believe in reinvention. I'm a versatile artist and my image has to project that aspect of my personality. So if today I am the innocent girl next door, tomorrow I will seduce my listeners with my diva act. The fact that I have been so regular with my makeovers, is probably the secret of my success," claims Alisha.
Success, it would seem, have come back knocking. In the recent past, the singer has given audiences mega hits like Kajra Re and Aaj Ki Raat, of the films Bunty Aur Babli and Don respectively, with the trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composing both the numbers. Her singing in Dhoom 2, though not as popular as the other two, nevertheless managed to return her in the public frame. The current buoyancy in her career, too, she admits, "is a result of studied deliberation, where I have measured everything I have done".
Her makeovers might have been constant, but they were also punctuated with prolonged bouts of dormancy. Wasn't there ever the fear of fading away from the collective public memory? "I believe that true talent never fades away. I'm confident that my admirers will remember me for my voice and not by the number of songs I sing. The breaks that I take away from the limelight helps me become more aware of my surroundings. Being in constant limelight is blinding sometimes," says the singer. "Like any other normal person, I do things that can be called regular. I read, cook, travel, shop and of course spend time with near and dear ones. In a profession like ours we tend to lose touch with people who matter, people just drift apart," claims Alisha.
So would she say that her estrangement with long time collaborator composer Biddhu who gave her hits like Made in India, is a result of 'drifting apart'. "There is no estrangement. We have just moved on. Biddhu is doing different things with his career and so am I. For me Biddhu will always be the person who gave me my career's biggest hit," smiles a bemused Alisha.
Friends may have moved on but what about foes? Alisha Chinai seem to be taking them head on, or at least rubbing shoulders with them. Some years back, her co-judge in the Indian Idol show, the composer Anu Malik was accused of molestation by Chinai. It seems too much of a coincidence but Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, two of the judges in American Idol, too are often shown to be at loggerheads before one proposes to the other on live television. If the producers of Indian Idol 3 have the same stunt in mind for Chinai and Malik, the lady is not willing to give it away. "Oh that incident happened ages ago. I have moved on," says Alisha. Nothing, she insists, will matter any more, not even touring the country with a person she wasn't even comfortable being with in a same room. "As a professional in this field for over twenty years I have learnt a big lesson. You have to move on no matter what it takes." In her case, it might be moving till the next avatar.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=228174
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