Chhaayaageet #195 - “Didi, classical gaana nahin. Koi Bollywood ka gaana sikhao.”
“Didi, classical gaana nahin. Koi Bollywood ka gaana sikhao.” Didi, no classical songs. Please teach us songs from Bollywood. Again, the same request from most of her students. She came thousands of miles away from home to this remote country in South America to teach classical music but this is what her students want. She didn't even know Suriname as a country until she got this posting. Oh well. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
It’s time to practice some of the oldies. A few Lata, Asha, Rafi melodies and some happy students. That should suffice for now. It’s been almost 4 years now in this country. Something still feels incomplete. It’s that itch again. I am a really good singer and can do well in the Hindi film industry.
She packs her bags and flies across continents to land in Mumbai. Her level of confidence is touching the sky and she feels unstoppable. She starts with the biggest recording studios and works her way down.
She makes a few calls. Nobody returns them back. She meets people. They never call her back. It’s like she is invisible.
“You should probably think about creating your album.” She gets this advice from folks who have struggled like her. Ok, maybe this is the way the industry works. She gets on with her album. All the money she earned in foreign currency goes towards this. In the end, over 400 CDs are mailed to the most prominent music folks affiliated with the industry.
Not exactly crickets but still not the level of response she was expecting. A few songs here, and a few jingles there. She feels there is some momentum. But the films are a flop and jingles barely pay the bills.
“There is this new young composer from Chennai who is in the town. I hear he gives chances to budding singers. And he is here recording in the same studio. Why don't you try to meet with him?” Another struggling friend mentions to her in passing. Sure, no harm in trying.
She finishes her jingle and stops by the other recording room. The doorman has a very dismissive attitude. “This composer always records during the night time. Come back after midnight.” What! That’s almost the next day early morning. She doesn't have a choice. She decides to wait in the studio.
It’s 1am now. She inquires again about the composer. “He is here but available to see you only at 3am.” Well now that she has sacrificed almost her whole night.
The composer greets her as she walks into his room. He is surrounded by complex musical instruments and gadgets all around him. “I heard your album and liked it.” She is relieved to hear that. The composer wants to test her further. “Can you sing this one? I just recorded this song for my latest film. I want to hear how you will sound.” She obliges and sings it in her style. “You are really good at classical singing. Let’s stay in touch.”
She comes back home in a chirpy mood. Such a great compliment from one of the top composers in the industry. She expects the composer or someone from his team will be reaching out the next day.
Next day goes by. Next week goes by and then next month and next year. No calls. In the meantime, she gets to sing a thumri and a ghazal in a couple of films. Those are moderate hits. She is still a nobody out there. Nothing shouts out as a hit like a romantic number. She is dying to sing one.
The phone rings. “The composer would like you to come to Chennai. How soon can you come?” This is the same young composer that she was anxiously waiting for. She hurries and makes it to his studio in Chennai the very next day.
The composer, lyricist, director, and singer are all huddled in one room. They come up with one tune, lyrics get written, the singer puts them all together, and the next moment everything gets thrown out. Not good enough. Let’s try again. This is fascinating for her as she has never experienced how iconic music gets created. The team continues this for the next 13 days and finally, the song gets recorded.
Madhushree (born as Sujata Bhattacharya) sang Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad for the film Yuva. The lyrics were written by Mehboob, the music was composed by AR Rahman, and the film was directed by Mani Ratnam. The song was picturized on Rani Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan. AR Rahman is included in the singer credits for this song since he sang the alaap in the song.
Madhushree was born into a musical family and since her early childhood, she gravitated towards classical music. She was never interested in doing playback singing. Once she graduated from college, she took up a role through ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) as a music teacher in Suriname. This is where she picked up music from old Hindi films based on requests from her students. Once she was done with that assignment, she decided to give it a shot in the film industry and decided to move to Mumbai.
She struggled initially and finally got the chance to get in front of AR Rahman. Rahman asked her to sing Kaale Megha from Lagaan since he had recently recorded that song. He was surprised by Madhushree’s rendition in her classical style. He remembered her and gave her a couple of chances in his subsequent movies. This included the thumri duet song Naina Milaike in Saathiya and a few ghazals in Tehzeeb. Madhushree still yearned for a romantic song. But in an industry where Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy, and Anuradha Paudwal dominated, it was really hard for a newcomer to make a breakthrough.
Finally, her stars smiled at her. Rahman called her to Chennai to sing the songs in the film Yuva. Mani Ratnam was planning to do this film in Hindi and Tamil with different casts in each language. The entire team including Mani Sir spent 13 days on the song Kabhi Neem Neem. They went through several variations of lyrics and compositions. Mani Sir liked the final composition so much that he insisted that Madhushree also sing the Tamil version. This was a tough one since Madhushree had never done playback in Tamil. But with practice and support from the team, she was able to sing that version as melodiously as the Hindi version.
Interesting trivia related to the film Yuva. Initially, Hrithik Roshan and Shah Rukh Khan were supposed to play the lead roles but were later replaced by Abhishek Bachchan and Ajay Devgn.
Music: AR Rahman
Singer: Madhushree, AR Rahman
Lyrics: Mehboob
*ing: Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan
Director: Mani Ratnam
Film: Yuva (2004)