Renowned singer and musician Suresh Wadkar laments about the degeneration in music industry while talking to Boski Gupta about his life, inspiration, awards and more…
You know it’s his voice when the music transcends you to a surreal land. Be it Seene mein jalan or Aye zindagi gale laga le or Sapne mein milti hai…or even his devotional songs, Suresh Wadkar leaves an indelible mark on our conscience with his every song. Call it his training or his voice, the singer-composer knows which chords to strike, and when, to touch the heart of music. No doubt, he’s considered one of the stalwarts in the industry today. Though not happy with the way the music is being created today, Wadkar still believes in talent and melody and is ready to nurture it under his guidance. Over to the singer…
Let’s start from the start. Tell us about your music journey…
I was four-year-old, my father was learning to sing from his guruji but couldn’t pursue further because of his illness. Once his teacher heard me singing and asked for the singer. Then he called my father and told him that he should teach his son to sing. That’s when my training begun.
How did you get your first break in Hindi films?
In 1977, I was a part of the Sur-Singar competition. Ravindra Jain was one of the judges and when he announced that I had won the competition, he promised, he would give me my first break. He made Rajshri team hear my voice and they loved it, and that’s how I got a chance to sing for Paheli movie!
You have sung for various genres in music from romantic to devotional, how do you prepare for a song? Do you have a way to get into the mood?
Earlier there used to be a lot of rehearsals. We were made to understand the situation of the song; the director and music director used to attend the rehearsals. Singers were told on which line they should emphasise. And only after two-three rehearsal sessions, we used to record the song. But now things are different.
How easy is it to sing in your mother tongue? Are there apprehensions when you sing in some other language?
In any language, challenges are always there. In Devanagari script, you can write down any pronunciation of any word and of course like I mentioned, music directors were always there to guide you and explain you the exact meaning and mood. And once you’ve sang many times in the same language, it becomes easy. I have sung in around 12-13 languages.
Who has the greatest influence on you?
There are many people. First will definitely be my Guruji Jialal Vasant. Aisi gaayki, aisi awaaz bahut kam sun ne milti hai. I’m a big fan of Lata Mangeshkar, Asha ji, Kishore Kumar, Rafi saab, Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh…
You have worked with numerous composers. If given a choice whom will you call your favourite and with whom you would like to work again?
Vishal Bhardwaj is my favourite from present generation of music directors. I wish I could have worked with Madan Mohan and Roshan saab
Even AR Rahman is remixing his popular songs like Humma and Urvashi. How do you react to the remixing culture?
It is for all of us to think, why is the song remade again? It is unnecessary unless you have really made something different. Tunes and arrangement is more or else the same, so doesn’t make sense. In fact, mera gaana bhi ‘Ae Zindagi gale laga le’ has been reworked. More than me, I think we all should collectively think ‘Where is originality’?
How do you see the change in music industry today?
There definitely is a lack of creativity. It is okay to be inspired but you must not copy the whole thing exact, it will lack the true essence. Recently, I was at a jury meet and kya words kya lyrics, kuch samajh hi nahi aata aajkal. Even the script is not in place… There is a protocol to be followed, you cannot break that protocol and go ahead much in life, at some time you will realise it is important to follow the process. Like Lat ji says, ‘Pehle ke zamaane main humein thoda araam mile isiliye music bajta tha, abhi musicians ko araam dene ke liye hum log gaate hain’
The kind of music that you grew up to and the kind of music which children of this generation are listening is so drastically different that we can say that it’s a new low in the creativity. What do you say about it.
Creating music and arranging music are two different things. Nowadays most music composers are actually music arrangers and because God has given them success they feel they have an easy way out. Training to hai hi nahi… Jaisa Insaaan hota hai waise you make a song… there’s a face, there are eyes, ears, hands, feet… that’s the shape music has too… but nowadays, the ankle is put near the knee, the eyes are not where it is supposed to be… it’s a total imbalance. It’s like a face without right features.
What’s your thought on auto-tuning?
Ab main kya kahu… recently at a Jury Meet everyone was saying …there should be an award for auto tune also… Looks like talent and art will lose its value. Lagta hai sirf words bolne chahiye, hum gaana bhi kyu gaaye agar end main auto tune hi karna hai!
Nowadays anybody can become a singer. From actors to writers, all are trying to hold the mic even without any background in music. Do you feel that’s an insult to the listeners?
Those who want to sing, will sing. We can’t stop anyone form singing. But nowadays it seems it has become a fashion for the actors to sing. I have heard even Dilip Kumar sing in real life. He sang a beautiful thumri. But people should realise that they should not cheat their fans and listeners.
How does an award affect you? You have been honoured with many awards, do you think it’s high time that you should get a Padma award?
The winning of an award is always a moment of pride and joy. But the timely awards are the ones which give us immense pleasure. Aur dekhne jaaye toh, main toh Padma Shri jeet chuka hoon 16 saal pehle…. Main apni Patni Padma ka Shri hoon (laughs).
What was the idea behind online music academy? Do you think music can be learned online?
Yes, it is possible. Already in the world, this has been happening since a long time. At Ajivasan, methodical training is given to students. There are few technological issues eventually they will be sorted out.
