Line-up for the World Music Day Concert, with t2, at Nazrul Mancha

♦ Kavita Krishnamurti will sing a jazz song, apart from her chartbusters, in a new avatar.
♦ Usha Uthup will perform a special song which is about her 45 years in music. 
♦ Jeet Gannguli will perform hits like Hamari adhuri kahani, and pay a tribute to landmark Bollywood songs from over six decades.
♦ Sourendro and Soumyojit will collaborate with all the artistes. 
♦ A poem from Gitanjali will be recited in five different languages by the consul-generals of different countries. 
♦ The governor K.N. Tripathi will inaugurate the concert with a poem of his own. He will be accompanied by the ex-governor M.K. Narayanan. 
♦ A Broadway-style act with Kathakali and Manipuri dancers.
♦ 500 schoolchildren will perform five verses of Jana Gana Mana. 
♦ More acts will follow.

Kavita Krishnamurti and Jeet Gannguli chatted with t2 in the run-up to the World Music Day Concert, in association with t2, to be held at Nazrul Mancha on June 21, 6pm onwards. 

Kavitaji, do you follow new music from Bollywood?
Kavita: I do listen to it once in a while. I am aware of what’s happening. There’s more versatility and different colours. But I really miss good lyrics. Also, I feel certain songs suffer from over-arrangement. Any good song works just with a guitar or harmonium. But that doesn’t happen now. For everything, you need a big keyboard, a big band… the acoustic feel of a song is no longer there. Honestly, I feel as long as a lot of Bengalis were there in the industry the music was beautiful. The Bengalis brought in a huge melodic flavour to the film industry. Punjab has come in now, certain aspects of which I like. But there’s too much of rhythmic Punjabi songs… for me it’s not national now. It has become segmented. Music is either Punjabi or Sufi.  

Jeet, being in the thick of things, what kind of demands do Bollywood producers make on you?
Jeet: I am very choosy. I’ve always focused on and tried to make melody-based songs with simple arrangements and good lyrics. I need creative freedom to compose my songs. I won’t compromise. 

But do you get that space in Bollywood?
Jeet: It’s not there, Soney do (from Citylights) didn’t get proper airplay. 

Kavitaji, what’s your take on today’s singers?
Kavita: This is such a confusing issue. Some might say that music directors just need the attitude in a song, and if the vocalist sings out of tune there are machines to take care of that.  
Jeet: Producers often decide who the singer will be. 
   
How do you negotiate that space and be firm about your choices?
Jeet: If I make a song for Kavitaji, then only she’ll sing it. Things have become so easy now, for singers from the younger generation. Those who get so much publicity after delivering only one hit don’t have the desire to work hard. Which is why there are so few who stay on for the long run.
Kavita: We have seen youngsters who come for reality shows can’t sing two lines in one breath. 

Is there a paucity of singers in Bollywood?
Kavita: There are good Sufi and Punjabi singers… 
Jeet: But not many for melodious songs. 

For the World Music Day Concert on June 21, what can we expect from you both? 
Jeet: I’ll be singing Hamari adhuri kahani, Muskurane ki wajah tum ho, Khamoshiyan, Mon majhi re, but presented in a new way. You’ll hear new versions of these songs. 
Kavita: My songs will have an international feel. I’m going to do Hawa hawai in a new way. And I’ll sing a song in English, a jazz standard. Also, a bhajan, which is composed by me. It’s the first composition of my life. 

How did your first composition happen?
My husband (violinist L. Subramaniam) prodded me and said, ‘Why are you so helpless?! Just compose some song for yourself. Get into the habit of composing. You can compose.’ I was sitting in the car and the tune came to me. I did the mukhra and antara and went to my husband and asked, ‘Will you listen to it?’ It’s a Meera bhajan, and he doesn’t understand Hindi. He replied, ‘Kavita, you have done a very good job.’ Till now I’ve composed about seven-eight songs. 

Kavitaji, do you still feel that you want to do something in Bollywood?
Kavita: No, not unless they give me a song that suits my personality. Even if you give me a lot of money, I don’t want to sing any random song. Why would I want to do anything that’s not me?
Jeet: Her sophistication hasn’t changed. 

You’ll be doing a jazz standard on Sunday. What’s your association with jazz?
Kavita: It goes back to 1999, when I married L. Subramaniam. The first time I went to the US I met George Duke (keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer). I saw his studio, his Grammy, his records, and I was blown away. Then I met Stanley Clarke (bassist). Two years later we did a concert in Lincoln Center with Stanley and George. I’ve performed with Philharmonic Orchestras, Larry Coryell (guitarist), who is a family friend. Another person who played guitar with us in Los Angeles was Steven Seagal (actor). Also, I sang the national anthem in the Madison Square Garden (when Narendra Modi took centre stage), with 20,000 people singing with me. It was magic. 

How was Steven Seagal to talk to?
He is so much into Buddhism, he treats himself like a Buddhist monk. 
At that time Steven was being targeted by some mafia people. He had some information and he was on the side of the police… the mafia people knew about it, and they were out to attack him. It all started when he wanted me to sing and my husband to play on his album. So we went to Poland where he was shooting for a film. Steven finally drove to the studio around 9 at night after the shoot, with us following him in a car with his entourage. The most striking thing was that they drove so fast. I was petrified. It was like watching a Hollywood movie with cars whizzing past. When I asked him about the fast driving, I got to know the story about the mafia. The fast driving was for his protection.    

Jeet, is Hamari adhuri kahani one of your best compositions?
Jeet: Yes, but I wanted to do soulful songs like Hamari adhuri kahani in Bengal. I wasn’t given the opportunity. People wanted dance numbers from me. Melody-based songs are getting lost in Bollywood. When I was making Hamari adhuri, I was confused. I started wondering whether people would listen and like the song. Thankfully, it was an instant hit! 

What’s the feedback from industry insiders?
Jeet: Even if your song is a big hit, very few people call up to congratulate you. Strange.  

JEET ON HAMARI ADHURI KAHANI
Before telling me the story of the film, (Mahesh) Bhatt saab started talking about the philosophy of making music. Then he said that love remains unfulfilled and that there’s no end to it. Immediately, I thought about my relationship with my parents and that I have been living away from them for nearly 20 years. I miss them. I could connect. Then the lead melody line came to me, with the three words. Later, as I was thinking of the song, I somehow played the C major seventh chord on the guitar. And then I started humming the piece that’s played on the violin. Next day, when Bhatt saab heard it, he started crying. He said, ‘This song is my life’s saransh.’ Arijit Singh is a very intelligent singer and has done a wonderful job. People have loved both the versions (Arijit and Jeet have both sung the song).  

Arindam Chatterjee