With 4 National
Film Awards and 6 Filmfare Awards, Shreya Ghoshal has proven that she is one of
the best singers in the industry. And 15 years after she first started her
career, Shreya now picks and chooses her work carefully and wants to steer
clear of innuendo-laden songs. In a freewheeling chat with SpotboyE.com, Shreya
talks about her latest single, creating independent music, actors turning
singers and a lot more. Excerpts:
Tells us about
your single Dhadkane Azad Hain?
This is a very
exciting phase of my life and people are constantly asking me why it took me 15
years to realise that I should do independent music. For a long time now I have
been following the routine but as an artiste, you always limit yourself to the script.
There was always a thirst in me to go beyond. The song was with me for seven
years. I wanted to give it to my fans directly without the backing of a label
or a film. Composer Deepak Pandit and Manoj Muntashir have done a fabulous job.
Shreya Goshal New Single Dhadkane Azad Hai
How long did it
take you to complete the single?
As I said, I had
the song with me for seven years but after I started working actively on it, I
took me a couple of months.
Have you become
more selective about your work now?
Subconsciously
yes. As in, I don’t overwork, I am not running around studios recording many
songs a day. At this point, I wish to do something different and exciting,
which would contribute to my growth as an artiste. This sometimes does not
happen with films as the songs tend to be repetitive. Every song sounds similar
with the same kind of sur, combination of instruments. These days I ask for the
song before they come to me and I look forward to something mazedaar. That
doesn’t happen often.
What are your
parameters now for choosing a song?
I first look for
a melody. If it’s a different melody, I see to it that I add my own colour to
it. Secondly, I have become a little conscious about the lyrics of the track.
Have you ever
gone to the recording studio and got the lyrics changed?
I only have
objections if the song is turning out to be suggestive or if I am not
comfortable with the thought portrayed. Also, one should be able to enjoy the
song with our families. Chikni Chameli was one song where the lyrics had to be
changed but that happened before I pointed it out. The producers and everyone
in the team thought that the song was going overboard.
A number of old
songs are being recreated. What’s your take on the trend?
I think it’s just
a phase that we are going through and I hope that it passes away very quickly.
Rehashing an old song is fine as great songs need to be rediscovered through a
new voice and sounds. But the dignity of the song should be maintained, because
we need to understand that these songs worked because they were that amazing.
But, I also feel the need for original music.
Singer Shreya Goshal
The shelf-life of
songs is getting shorter. Why do you think that’s happening?
I think
there’s too much content available. Everyday there is a competition about who
gets the most number of views. There is this constant battle between songs and
unfortunately it is not about making a good song, it’s more about numbers and
views. Also somewhere there is a lack of faith in the artistes, which needs to
change.
Long ago, in an interview, Aadesh Shrivastava had said that the concept of playback singing will cease to exist post the generation of Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, KK and Shaan. What do you think about his statement?
Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on and I can’t comment on that. But it all depends on what movies and songs we make. Only if we intend to make good movies, will we get good songs which will be sung by talented artistes. Right now, most of the songs don’t need a trained singer. It’s all about the texture of the voice and the rest is taken care of. This approach really does not help in breeding good artistes. The system needs to change and we need to follow the organic way of making music rather than picking up bits and pieces.
Many female
singers sound like you now. How do you feel about that?
That’s fine as
long as we are making good music. I have always given my heartfelt
encouragement to new artistes. At times, if I hear a song and if I have access
to the artiste, I pickup my phone and make it a point to appreciate him/ her.
Sunidhi and I have done that quite a few times. I am fine with people taking
inspiration from me as long as eventually they find their own voice.
Who according to
you sounds the closest to you?
I know my voice
the most so I don’t think I can really answer that (laughs).
The trend has
shifted towards actors singing a song and the publicity of the film riding on
that one track. Does that bother you?
That has happened
with me just once, which was Samjhawan from Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. I understand
that people do it for promotion. It doesn’t hamper me. Maybe it’s only to get
the cash registers ringing. But when someone thinks of the song, the first
names to crop up would be Shreya and Arijit. Like the producer, director and
the actors, the audience too is aware of the fact that Alia rendered her vocals
for the promotion of the film.
Why don’t we have
complete albums these days like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil?
Pritam was the
music composer for the entire album. It is very important to have a common
sound to an album. Picking up songs from different people might help that
particular track but not an album. This is where the shelf-life of the album
goes for a toss.
Image Source: shreyagoshal & hq