Anuradha Paudwal - rise and fall - Page 2

Maturity comes at a cost

My husband (Arun Paudwal) was not the kind of person to promote his wife (that would have really helped!) because he was already well established in the field of music direction. In fact, it was quite the contrary. He would criticise me so much and pick so many faults that I would be petrified of singing in his presence. I would have trouble finding my voice if I saw him in the recording room. I knew that if I were to slip up even a little, I would have to hear about it all the way home! In that sense, I could not ever become a 'professional' while he was around... Strangely enough, after I lost him to a prolonged illness, professional maturity came to me automatically. It was practically thrust upon me. I did not have the luxury of being criticised by a husband who cared. I had to be my own critic and learn to deliver the goods.

Family support can make or break a woman's career

I was married into a joint family. Not once, ever, did my in-laws resent my time spent away from the family and kids. If there was a recording, no matter what the time or place, there was never a question of not attending it. In fact, on the 13th day after my father-in-law passed away I had to attend a recording, and my mother-in-law made sure I went for it. I can't imagine any typical Indian family being as supportive...

You have to move on...

After I lost my husband, I lost the will to sing. In fact, for a long time, I did not sing at all. But I knew I had to move on. After all, I had two young children to support. I signed a contract with T-series to sing exclusively for them. In hindsight, this was probably a mistake since T-series gradually stopped doing films and as a result, I dropped out of the playback singing scene altogether. It was only devotional music for me... of course I enjoyed that very much...

Talent can survive any generational shift in taste and style

The music industry has changed a lot since the last time I sang for films. While earlier, it was difficult for even talented singers to get a break, today anybody and everybody can sing or make a video. Music direction too, has become so much more digitalised. Yet, I believe real talent survives no matter what the environment. The upside is that a lot of good talent is coming into the industry because of so many more opportunities.

Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago

Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago