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You’ve undergone a huge image makeover…
In between I had put on five kilos and everyone got very upset with me. My fans want to see the starry side of me. See, we cannot ignore the importance of presence and personality in any activity to do with stage or screen. Just like I try to bring style to my sur and taal, if I can look better on stage then why not add style to that too? But while I believe glamour and content are equally important, still I’d say first get your content in place and then walk into a mall and buy yourself a sexy dress. Not the other way round.
I am an early riser. I also make sure I do my riyaaz for at least two hours a day. They say na...boond boond se sagar banta hai. Toh thodi thodi practise if I do everyday, then imagine how much a voice can grow. Now, I’ve combined my exercise of waking early and running on the beach with my riyaaz. Sara kamaal usi ka hai.
It’s been a long association with A.R. Rahman. How did you both connect for the first time?
Someone had recommended me to him and I went to meet him one day at a studio. Although I went to meet him as a singer, as I landed in the studio I found him sitting with Govind Nihalani, working on the music of Thakshak. It so happened that they were looking for a writer to write an introductory song for Thakshak when out of the blue Rahman asked me if I could write. I said yes.
Actually I’ve always been very passionate about poetry. So when Govind Nihalani narrated the situation, I wrote a song in Punjabi called Dholna. Govind Nihalani was so impressed that he told Rahman: ‘This boy is amazing.’ So the song was used and they also got me to write another one — Rang de. Another time, Rahman asked me to write a song for him I suggested a poem by the Sufi saint Pir Baba Bulleh Shah. I narrated it to him in Punjabi and explained the meaning. He found it fantabulous but was worried about whether listeners would understand. I told him, ‘Give me a melody and I’ll show you how.’ As I started singing, he was flabbergasted. This was actually the first time he actually heard me sing.
I feel funny boasting but he hugged me and took me to the private chamber where he prays. Then he took me back to the studio where he introduced me to Gulzar and Mani Ratnam, all of whom were seated there and he told me: ‘I want you to sing to them.’ The song was Thaiyya thaiyya which afterwards Gulzaarsaab rewrote in Hindi — Chhaiyya chhaiyya — and I recorded the song the same day.
How come we’ve never heard about this writer in you? Tell us more...
That’s because my concentration has been on singing and writing is something that I’ve been privately passionate about. I’ve written 20 songs for Rahman. The last one I wrote for him was Mann chandre nu for his album in 2009. I wrote Kava kava for Monsoon Wedding. When MF Husain gifted me a painting, I gifted him a song — Chinnamma chilakammaa — for his film Meenaxi. I wrote all the songs in Deepa Mehta’s Water…
So it’s Rahman who brings out the best in you?
He’s the one who introduced me to the music world. The one and only one to give me the right chances. I may not be singing in every second film of his but whenever I sing for Rahman, he says it’s like two composers working on one song. Unlike the usual composer-singer equation where the song is composed and one just needs to go and sing it, Rahman starts crafting a song from the time I step in front of the mike.
How much of a turning point was Jai ho?
You know, I believe in karma, in worship and I also have great regard for luck and Jai ho was a complete packaging of luck. It was a song that had been rejected by Subhash Ghai, Rahman also chucked it but I could never get the song out of my head. So I recorded the song on my own and sent it to Rahman. The next day, he called me and said: ‘Hello, Hollywood singer!’ I was like: ‘Hollywood?’ Then he told me how it had been picked up for Slumdog Millionaire and what a stupendous journey it’s been to the Grammy and Oscars. These songs — Taal, Chak de, Jai ho all created success but I love music more than success. Because success comes and goes.
After Jai ho, Rahman and you were not on talking terms for a while. Who broke the ice and how?
No no no! Rahman and I never had any conflict. The first person he called when the nominations were announced was me. He said: ‘Sukhi, we’ll go there together and perform on stage.’ And I would always say, this man who’s done music such as Roja, Bombay, Rangeela and changed the entire face of the Hindi film music industry, why isn’t he getting an Oscar or Grammy? Mujhe khush hona chahiye tha but what happened is something else. People in India were expecting to see me on stage with Rahman and they found me missing. What I had got upset about was something else. I found it strange that during the Oscar performance, it was my voice playing in the background and a girl who was miming. Now that is a mistake not expected from technical people at the Oscars or someone like Rahman. But because of this, rumours started spreading. Aur rumours ka kya kehna...rumours ne toh meri shaadi kara di, girlfriends dila di! (Laughs) In fact, after the award ceremony, Rahman called me. I was in Kanpur for a show and he said: ‘We’ll have a party when I’m back.’ That party hasn’t happened yet! And now I call him Oscar Boy!
How does the chemistry between you and him work on stage?
Oh, we freak out. It’s a huge canvas of entertainment that is showcased on his shows which I’ve been a part of from the very beginning. We will be spending three days in Calcutta before the show for rehearsals because we begin this tour with Calcutta. For my own shows, I just plan the first song and the rest is spontaneous. For Rahman everything from the beginning till the end is planned. This show in Calcutta will be nothing short of an Indrasabha!
Any memories of performing in Calcutta?
I remember the time when I performed with Rahman in Calcutta, the moment I started singing Ramta jogi, people started lighting candles and waving it in the air. It was brilliant. Like a million stars twinkling. This time I hope to be more melodious and stylish.
Any plans during your three-day stay in the city?
Calcutta is like a musical book to me. Everyone from Bengal is made of music. Be it someone in business or education. The base of Indian classical music too seems to have shifted to Calcutta now. Seventy per cent of the people in Indian classical music are from there. Look at Rashid Khan, Kaushiki (Chakrabarty). How daringly they sing! Very talented people. I would like to take time out and meet them personally including some amazing tabla players like Anindo Chatterjee.
TICKETS
Celkon RahmanIshq, put together by Techfront and Rapport Global Events, will rock Salt Lake Stadium on October 1. All you have to do is visit indianstage.in and book your ticket. If you want your tickets delivered to your doorstep, call +919243777970. Tickets are also available at The Mobile Store outlets, Priya Cinema, Bioscope, Allure and the following The Telegraph One Stop Classifieds counters…
Ad Zone (Dunlop): 7890007561/9007110032
Addyama (Shyambazar): 25336441
Onear Advertising and Marketing Services (Park Circus): 9830067695/40044949
Baishakhi Ladies Tailor (Baguiati): 9830014618
Nu Sam’s (BD Market, Salt Lake): 9831278201
Mainak Gallery (Kankurgachhi): 23649229/23629655
Commune Electronics (Behala): 24452085/24985161
Kwality Book Company
(New Alipore): 9831552493
Melody (Rashbehari): 24662474
Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick (Bhowanipore): 9748623659/30532432
Ad Booking Point (Jadavpur): 8981256635/24993131
Mita Goswami (Santoshpur): 9007062222
Meel Sells Ads (Ekdalia Crossing, Gariahat): 24405819/24604291
Ganapati Ad Agency (Bagha Jatin): 8981256757/9831733834
Samparko (Garia): 9331085917/24303300
Roychoudhury & Co. (Tollygunge): 03323818571/9330363132/ 9330263132
Mohua Das
What do you think of the Rahman-Sukhwinder combination? Tell t2@abp.in
