Subhash K Jha
September 28, 2014
85... But at heart you are still 25?
I agree! How time flies... This time I'll be traveling during my birthday. So I want to thank all my friends and well- wishers beforehand. It's because of them that I am still singing.
Among the great artistes of the last century, only you remain a link between the two centuries.
I'll say it's my parents' blessings and God's kindness. Mera contribution hai yeh main maanti hoon. But what has really kept me going is that I've never criticised or pulled down anyone. Perhaps that explains why I'm liked so much even now. Whenever I have been required to sing for the country or for charity I have never stepped back.
At one point of time you were accused of indulging in a melodious monopoly. What do you call the monopoly of cacophony today?
The media fuelled the rumours about my monopoly. The first question I was always asked during interviews was about my supposed monopoly. Once I was even asked if I tampered with the equipment during other singers' recordings. Ab bataiye main kyon aisa karun? I never bothered with what other singers were doing. When Runa Laila came to India for the first time, I went to her first recording for Kalyanji- Anandji even though I was down with fever. They said I was just indulging in dikhaawa that I had actually gone to see how she sang. Arrey, forget about female singers, even some male singers accused me of trying to stop them from singing. Ab iska kya jawaab hai?
You have just recorded some new songs, is it a return birthday gift for your fans?
You can say that. I recorded some Bangla songs after a very long time. These had to be recorded and released by September 25 for Dussehra. So I've been working hard to meet the deadlines.
The ones that you've recorded earlier are played during every Dussehra in Kolkata?
Yes, their popularity is imperishable. I didn't want to record any other Puja songs unless something really worth doing came up. The last Puja songs I had recorded were composed by Salilda ( Salil Chowdhury). Now we found one song of his that had not been sung by anyone. I am proud to have sung it.
Do you regret the fact that your brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar never became as successful a composer in Hindi films as he deserved to be?
Very much! He never made the rounds of producers' offices to get work. Nor did I recommend him to any filmmaker. Even when I wanted to, he forbade me from doing so. Moreover, it's all a matter of fate.
Films songs are becoming increasingly unworthy of you.
I wouldn't blame music directors. It's what the films and their producers demand. Nowadays, there are seven music directors in one film. If one of our old music directors was told to share a score with others, he would've left the assignment. I remember a film for which Majrooh Sultanpuri was supposed to write the lyrics. Salilda got Shailendra to write one song and suggested that Majrooh saab can do the rest of the songs. Majrooh Saab chose to leave the assignment.
Who among the current lot of actors is your favourite?
Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan are absolute favourites. And now there's Hrithik Roshan .
Name some memorable songs from your career?
That's the toughest one ( Laughs). So many of them. There are some that no one knows. Sajjad Hussain's Ae dilruba' from Rustam Sohrab and Aaj mere nasib ne mujhko rula rula diya from Hulchul. Salil Chowdhury's O sajna barkha bahaar' from Parakh and Raaton ke saaye ghane' from Annadata. Madan bhaiyya ke to asankhya ( Infinite) gaane hain. My favourite is Woh chup rahe to mere dil ke daagh jalte hain' and Jab jab tumhein bhulaya tum aur yaad aaye' from Jahan Ara R. D. Burman's Dilbar dil se pyare' from Caravan. Kalyanji- Anandji's Chandan sa badan' from Saraswatichandra and Akele hain chale aao' from Raaz .
What about the composers?
I like 70 per cent of what I sang for Shankar- Jaikishan. Ravindra Jain's songs in Henna and Ram Teri Ganga Maili. Ghulam Mohammed's songs in Pakeezah. Then my brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar's songs in Lekin , Vishal Bhardwaj's Pani pani re' from Maachis, Jatin- Lalit's songs in Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai and of course AR Rahman's Jiya jale' from Dil Se.
Have you made mistakes in your seemingly flawless singing?
Pehle bahut si baar ki hai. You know what I used to do when those songs play on radio or TV? Either I shut off the television/ radio or I run away from that room ( Laughs).
Like a lot of your admirers, do you feel you would have made a huge impact if you restricted yourself to classical singing?
I love classical singing. If I had the time to do riyaaz and hone my classical singing skills, I'd have been the happiest woman in the world. But I don't regret anything.
Is it true that composers used to wait for weeks and months for your dates?
Yes, it was well- known in the film industry that if I went out of Mumbai or was unwell, composers waited for weeks and months to record their songs with me. Those days composers and singers worked as a team. Today I'm not too keen to sing for films.
What do you have to say about today's film songs?
I suppose they serve their purpose. Today the scope for variety has shrunk drastically. There are only a handful of top- notch composers AR Rahman, Anu Malik, Jatin Lalit... That's it.
As a singer do you think you've achieved an optimum level of excellence?
God gave me my voice, my father trained it and my mother nourished it. All the gurus that I trained under are responsible for my success.
You never set up your own home. Wasn't that a tremendous sacrifice?
Haan, main maanti hoon. To me, my family and I are one. I never thought of a life separate from my family. Yeh baat kabhi mere dimaag mein ayee hi nahin. Ab to aane ka koi sawaal hi nahin. I have crossed that time in my life.
comment:
p_commentcount