Very early in the interview, Abhijeet Bhattacharya calls his latest album “predictable”. It is something one also had in mind while listening to “AB”. All the eight tracks remind of the times when Abhijeet was on song as the voice of reigning stars. In times when everything has to be different, this candid admission sounds refreshingly different. Abhijeet has a reason. “I have a fan following, which is missing the kind of melodies that reigned supreme in the past and are no longer part of Bollywood music. Being active on the social media I keep getting requests and hence Sameer (lyricist) and I got together to create the album.”
These are difficult times for private albums but Abhijeet feels that he will prove the naysayers wrong. The music video, however, is not predictable at all. Instead of going from model or a heroine, Abhjieet has gone for animation for the song “Pankhudi Ki Palki” where he is shown as a bumble bee ( bhanwra ) following a pretty girl. “We could have easily signed a heroine but we wanted to do something fresh and my director Paresh Mehta was up to the task,” says Abhijeet.
As the conversation rolls on, it appears that the word “predictable” emanated from the pain that he is carrying for being sidelined as a playback singer by the new crop of film composers. He was last heard as the voice of Ranbir Kapoor in Besharam for a song that was deliberately tuned in a way to remind the audience of the 90s music. Isn’t it time for him to change? “I would have happily changed if the new crop was succeeding in providing music for generations. In the name of being different they are killing music and letting the producers control the creativity,” he retorts. Without naming anybody, Abhijeet asks, “How can a composer make a qawwal sing for the leading man with six pack abs.” He is obviously referring to Rahat Fateh Ali Khan singing for Salman Khan. “These days the singer is not sure when and in which film his song will be used. So there is no question of preparation for the mood of the situation and matching the voice with the actor.” This, he adds, limits the shelf life of the song. “They bombard you for a few weeks and after that they vanish. Also, if you put abusive language in the song, it guarantees cheap publicity for a few weeks.”
The music based reality shows, Abhijeet adds, have ensured that there is supply of young singers ready to do anything to get an opportunity but most of them are raw as far as training is concerned. “Playback singing requires years of riyaaz. It cannot be gimmicky.”
Analysing the turn of events, Abhijeet says the Copyright Amendment Act 2012 has led to the sidelining of established playback singers. “It is not only me; the likes of Sonu Nigam, Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan have also been ignored. The composer’s choice is no longer paramount because he doesn’t know how many songs he is going to compose and how many of them will be retained.”
He puts the blame on the composers who changed Bollywood music from melody-based to sound-based. “It worked for a few years but crippled the music industry for a long time. Apart from A.R. Rahman, no other composer is busy today. And even Rahman of today is no longer the same force that he was in the early phase of new millennium. A kind of sameness has set in because you no longer get to hear organic music. Now almost every sound is computer-generated.” This dependence on technology, he says, has put the traditional players out of business and has given the producer the leeway to exploit talent. “Now a producer can get a sound arranger to record a song for half the price that a composer commands. And the guy will make any besura singer sing because he knows that he has the technology to correct the follies. But can such music last. Can the computer generate the sounds that R.D. Burman from his vocal chords or the instruments that he introduced to film music.”
He reminds of madal, the Nepalese instrument that Burman introduced in “Hum Dono Do Premee” or the way he blew into beer bottles to create the opening beats of “Mehbooba Mehbooba”. Perhaps, that is the reason feels Abhijeet, that FM radio stations are still surviving on the old melodies. “I get requests for live shows all around the year from different parts of the world. I am used to asli (pure) ghee, I can do without ice cream cones,” he signs off.
Pakistani angle
Abhijeet continues to hold his hardline against Pakistani singers performing in India. “I don’t think there will be a change in policy under the new regime. I have reconciled myself to the fact but it is largely because of the fact that Pakistan has very little to offer to us in terms of work. It is only they who can find an opportunity to showcase their talent here.” Can’t we show magnanimity as elder brother? “At the cost of opportunities meant for our own talented artists? I don’t think it is fair. Interestingly, our industry doesn’t understand this but my fans in Pakistan respect my point of view,” he insists.
