I have come across this interesting write-up by Rajiv Vijayakar
and made a decision to include it in my site. That's not only because I
liked his perception of writing but also because of the prominent fact
that I am a blind fan of exceptional Shreya Ghoshal.
Rajiv Vijayakar says,
it's been not only artistic yet professional evolution as well
unlimited for Shreya Ghoshal, Queen Bee of playback in the film industry
at present time. Prevalent factor remain that any song she 'strikes'
turns gold, and even if a few miss the popular bus, the qualitative
impact is consistent. Here is a singer who is simply growing accompanied
by every song, come 'Teri Meri' (Bodyguard), 'Ooh La La' (The Dirty
Picture), 'Chikni Chameli' (Agneepath), 'Naina Re And Lagan Lagi'
(Dangerous Ishhq), 'Chikni Kamar', 'Chhammak Chhallo' and 'Chandaniya'
(Rowdy Rathore), 'Humse Pyaar Kar Le Tu' and 'That's All I Really Wanna
Do' (Teri Meri Kahaani) and now 'Chalao Na Nainon Se Baan Re' (Bol
Bachchan).
Mr Rajiv Vijayakar
expressed that meeting up the singer at her classy new apartment in
Mumbai's Santa Cruz area is a first, as they have always met for
interviews at studios otherwise done what are known as 'phoners' over
the preceding decade. The singer is visibly relaxed as well they get
chatting. Shreya's mother insists that Shreya play the piano, which she
has commenced to learn. An outstanding rendition of the '70s S.D.Burman
beauty, 'Ab To Hai Tumse', follows.
Excerpts from an interview:
It's been ten years since your debut with Devdas. Where do you see yourself today?
I
am at peace and in a happy phase! (Smiles) My shifting to this locality
from the central suburbs has allowed me the luxury of having far more
free time as my commuting time has reduced literally by hours! This
permits me to a lot of things I always wanted to - like learning the
piano and listening to more and more music. Until now, even sitting with
my family for a relaxed chat was a rare luxury!
Professionally,
I am getting the best songs in the midst of all kinds of music that is
happening. I am keen on stepping up my work in Bengali and am also
coming out with a ghazal album. In recent times, I have rejected
multiple songs because of objectionable lyrics or other reasons. I
continue to do a lot of regional work, especially down South where the
composers and filmmakers give you great respect.
Of
late, there have been some new singers who have complained that their
voices have been replaced after recording a song. Have you ever had this
experience?
Unfortunately,
yes. Some music directors have got into this pattern of trying out
multiple voices for a song and can arbitrarily scrap your version after
you have given your best. The irony is that a better singer can also be
replaced by an inferior one, for reasons best guessed at rather than
being the right ones! In principle, I have always hated this trend and
have openly expressed my unwillingness to 'over-dub' on another singer's
voice.
Why has this problem surfaced in Hindi film music over the last few years?
I
don't know the exact reason why some music directors are following this
trend. The big problem that a singer is absolutely unsure after
recording any song about whether it will be finally heard when the music
and film are out! In this craze for trying out various singers and
sometimes programmers, some music directors are killing their own
creativity. My song in a recent film, for example, had four female
versions in different voices, all with minute differences of riffs! Why
should composers be unsure about who will do justice to a song?
You have had a slew of good songs of late for Sajid-Wajid and Himesh Reshammiya in particular.
Theirs
is the kind of melodious music that is going back to our roots.
Himeshji's 'Naina Re' from Dangerous Ishhq was phenomenal. 'Chalao Na
Nainon Se Baan Re' from Bol Bachchan has caught on in a big way - he is a
genius as a composer and at his best very few can match him today. As
for Sajid-Wajid, their biggest plus is that their melodies stand on
their own, like in the good old days. By that I mean that the songs
sound as good when heard or sung without a single instrument.
Where do you see trends going?
Entertainment
is back! It is now proved that when you want to enjoy, nothing can beat
classic Hindi entertainers. The South Indian remakes have also brought
in catchy South Indian rhythms - the South excels at desi grooves. We
all love hearty, rooted Indian music and nothing can beat the 6-8 beat
in dance.
What explains Hindi film music's most deviant phase that came between 2008 and 2010?
Chaos
was reigning because a generation that was ingrained in music from
outside India was looking at our presenting alien music in our style,
which they thought was the future of music in India. There was too much
emphasis on technology, and words and their expressions were no longer
as important. The placing of the vocal track level in the final mix and
mastering was dominated by the orchestration and we often could not
understand the words. Essentially, I would say that it was an identity
crisis - and it continues even today in some quarters.
You mentioned that you rejected songs because of objectionable lyrics. Could you elaborate on that?
I
do not have a problem with what I feel are bad lyrics. But I cannot
sing double-meaning songs and worse. There were some parts of 'Chikni
Chameli' that I made sure were modified.
It's very
simple: we are not like the West - yet! There is a social
responsibility that all artistes have. Indians still have a comfort
level in being covered. If that is thought of as not going with the
times, then so be it! Indians worldwide are being increasingly respected
and honoured for their cerebral qualities and that's the way it should
be! I am not insecure either, so why should I sing such
attention-grabbing songs?
Are there any songs about which you are excited in the films to come?
I
have recorded some really good songs across many composers. There are
two terrific songs for Jeet Ganguly in Raaz 3 and am excited about
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's new film for which he is also scoring the music.
You stated that you want to do more non-film music.
Yes,
I want to do more in Bengali than the obligatory Pujo album every year!
Besides being my mother-tongue, even in Bengali cinema, great times
have come back because of Shantanu Moitra's music in Antaheen. I want to
do more for independent music - the ghazal album I am doing has music
by Deepak Pandit with lyrics by Manoj Muntashir. I really miss the days
of ghazals and thumris so I want to contribute my bit.
This is not the era of physical sales though. So how are you planning to market the album?
Such
albums do not have to be huge. As for the reach, I will make sure that
my album will go where it should. I will definitely add my own publicity
to it through tweets, posts on Facebook and also concerts.
Finally, which would you say are the landmark songs of your career?
Oh,
there have been so many. But I would like to mention the songs that
steered my career at the right time in the right direction. After a
traditional score like Devdas as a debut film, my songs in Jism - 'Jadoo
Hai Nasha Hai' and 'Chalo Tumko Lekar Chale', and later in Saaya and
Main Hoon Naa gave me a modern as well as versatile image. In the last
three years, I was being largely called to sing the staid romantic
melodies and 'Ooh La La', 'Chikni Chameli' and the songs of Rowdy
Rathore have once again come as life-saving opportunities that have
broken that restrictive image. As I said, I am in a happy phase!
I sincerely thank Mr Rajiv Vijayakar to include this article on the site.
Content Source: Bollywood Masala
(AW:Samrat Biswas)
