Sukhwinder Singh: Gujarati folk music has its own charm

Every time you meet Sukhwinder Singh, he has something new to offer. And this time round when the versatile singer visited Ahmedabad, he said he was “more comfortable singing than doing interviews as talking too much tires him.”
But it’s only a matter of time when Sukhwinder gets into his own zone and speaks his heart out. As we caught up with the peppy singer, he opened up about Gujarati folk music, importance of riyaaz and more.
Excerpts from a quick chat:
How important is music to a film’s success?
Music is extremely important for the success of any film. So many films were hits purely because their songs were big hits first. Even now movies are promoted with songs and special promo songs being made. So many mega stars achieved stardom as their songs were such big hits.
Often leading actors use a singer’s voice and go on to give super hit songs. But with time the actors move on to other contemporary singers.
Well, that hasn’t happened with me. I think it’s all about the longevity of a singer. If you survive the passage of time then you’ll never face such a situation.
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But not many singers in today’s time seem to be able to stand this test of time.
Riyaaz is the word. You need to keep practicing no matter how successful you are Many a time people stop practicing once they achieve success, that complacency that singers have results in shorter shelf life. I still practice for hours. And practice classical music, because that’s the base of all music. People think why do I practice raags and alaaps when I don’t sing such songs. But it doesn’t matter what kind of songs you sing, classical music should be your base.
And what about folk music?
Folk music is one of the purest forms of music. And it is in a zone of its own. You would see all popular forms of music take influence from folk music. And they are well received almost everywhere. So many different forms of folk tunes have inspired Bollywood songs, including Gujarati folk music, which is a great sign for folk singers.
So do you listen to Gujarati folk?
I have worked on Gujarati folk a lot. I stayed in Kutch for 15 days while shooting for a film along with the music director and I witnessed a lot of folk music at that time. It was a great experience seeing the folk singers and musicians perform with us. Gujarati folk music has its own charm.
Listen to the songs of Sukhwinder Singh on Gaana.com
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