The era of Mukesh, Kishore and Lata Mangeshkar was long gone. But looks like Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Sunidhi & Co have also timed out in Bollywood playback singing. With actors and music composers increasingly lending their own voice to film songs and advanced technology aiding the most out-of-tune singer sound tuneful, playback singing in movies is just not the same anymore.....
Need attitude, not a trained voice
The songs earlier required a trained voice, but singers say that's been replaced with a voice with more attitude. As Kavita Krishnamurthy, who's lent her voice to several Bollywood melodies, shares, "I started my career with music composers like RD Burman and Laxmikant Pyarelal. They knew ki falah singer ki voice falah gaane ko suit karegi and they used to give us songs accordingly. The sort of compositions which are made today, don't require voice with pure Hindustaani accent. Music composers say, 'Madam, bas attitude chahiye voice mein', they need a specific style in singing. If somebody comes and tells me to sing a composition with cheap lyrics, at this age I can't do it," she says.
Shaan, who recently voiced his concern about mainstream playback singers not getting enough work in Bollywood, adds, "Nowadays, 'badtameezi' has become the cool quotient in songs. We no longer have purely charming heroes in movies, heroes are shown having grey shades today. So the songs made for them require a voice to be of a specific style and accent. Playback singing has become more diverse, we just don't need a khoobsurat voice for songs."
Shaan adds that there is greater emphasis on visual appeal than audio proficiency now. "Before the music album of a movie is launched, its video is released on the internet. The focus is on how the actors are looking in the song more than how well it has been sung," he says. However,UditNarayan isn't as accommodating about the new trends. "People still listen to old songs but compositions today have no life, they might become instant hits, but people don't remember them for long. I believe somewhere we are compromising on quality," he says.
Technology Substitutes Quality?
Thanks to tech advancements, trained singers are becoming redundant. Voice modulation through specialised softwares can make even a besura sound good! As Narayan puts it, "Anyone can sing today."
"I had predicted this long back, and I am saying this again: in the coming future, actors will be singing their own songs. Trained playback singers will no longer be needed. With the software being used in the music industry these days, anybody can sing. The result is that singers are not getting even 10% of the work that they used to get before. And even if I have an offer to sing, there is no guarantee that my song will be incorporated in the album finally," avers singer Babul Supriyo.
Agrees Kavita, as she recalls, "Even if a single word was not sung properly, we used to re-record the entire line in our days. Today, the whole line is streamlined using software to make it sound melodious."
Music Composers, Turning Singers
While there are enough newcomers making a foray into playback singing, actors and music composers too are doing playback now, so singers aren't required anymore, feels Kunal Ganjawala. "Actors singing their songs has become a trend in the industry," he says, adding, "Three or four music composers work on a single project and they sing too, because they want to utilize the opportunity, everybody wants exposure and survival is not easy. Naturally then, the amount of work coming to singers like us is much less. A lot of people ask me where mainstream singers have gone... I feel that instead of cursing the situation, one should adapt to it - the need of the hour is singers should start composing music too!" Tit for tat!
Too many cooks
Abhijeet Bhattacharya, who has sung songs for Shah Rukh Khan in many of his films, believes that there is a glut of talent in the industry. "The drawback of having so much talent today is, nobody is able to establish themselves in the industry, it was much easier earlier," he says.
A fact reiterated by Udit Narayan, who adds, "We have enough talent but we are not utilizing it properly."
It's show time!
So, how are the playback singers of not-so- long-ago surviving in the profession? While a lot of them are judging reality shows, Supriyo replies, "Through concerts, because the stage is where the difference between singers and non-singers is clearly visible." Adds Ganjawala, "Private albums too are a good way to come out with your original work."
The songs earlier required a trained voice, but singers say that's been replaced with a voice with more attitude. As Kavita Krishnamurthy, who's lent her voice to several Bollywood melodies, shares, "I started my career with music composers like RD Burman and Laxmikant Pyarelal. They knew ki falah singer ki voice falah gaane ko suit karegi and they used to give us songs accordingly. The sort of compositions which are made today, don't require voice with pure Hindustaani accent. Music composers say, 'Madam, bas attitude chahiye voice mein', they need a specific style in singing. If somebody comes and tells me to sing a composition with cheap lyrics, at this age I can't do it," she says.
Shaan, who recently voiced his concern about mainstream playback singers not getting enough work in Bollywood, adds, "Nowadays, 'badtameezi' has become the cool quotient in songs. We no longer have purely charming heroes in movies, heroes are shown having grey shades today. So the songs made for them require a voice to be of a specific style and accent. Playback singing has become more diverse, we just don't need a khoobsurat voice for songs."
Shaan adds that there is greater emphasis on visual appeal than audio proficiency now. "Before the music album of a movie is launched, its video is released on the internet. The focus is on how the actors are looking in the song more than how well it has been sung," he says. However,UditNarayan isn't as accommodating about the new trends. "People still listen to old songs but compositions today have no life, they might become instant hits, but people don't remember them for long. I believe somewhere we are compromising on quality," he says.
Technology Substitutes Quality?
Thanks to tech advancements, trained singers are becoming redundant. Voice modulation through specialised softwares can make even a besura sound good! As Narayan puts it, "Anyone can sing today."
"I had predicted this long back, and I am saying this again: in the coming future, actors will be singing their own songs. Trained playback singers will no longer be needed. With the software being used in the music industry these days, anybody can sing. The result is that singers are not getting even 10% of the work that they used to get before. And even if I have an offer to sing, there is no guarantee that my song will be incorporated in the album finally," avers singer Babul Supriyo.
Agrees Kavita, as she recalls, "Even if a single word was not sung properly, we used to re-record the entire line in our days. Today, the whole line is streamlined using software to make it sound melodious."
Music Composers, Turning Singers
While there are enough newcomers making a foray into playback singing, actors and music composers too are doing playback now, so singers aren't required anymore, feels Kunal Ganjawala. "Actors singing their songs has become a trend in the industry," he says, adding, "Three or four music composers work on a single project and they sing too, because they want to utilize the opportunity, everybody wants exposure and survival is not easy. Naturally then, the amount of work coming to singers like us is much less. A lot of people ask me where mainstream singers have gone... I feel that instead of cursing the situation, one should adapt to it - the need of the hour is singers should start composing music too!" Tit for tat!
Too many cooks
Abhijeet Bhattacharya, who has sung songs for Shah Rukh Khan in many of his films, believes that there is a glut of talent in the industry. "The drawback of having so much talent today is, nobody is able to establish themselves in the industry, it was much easier earlier," he says.
A fact reiterated by Udit Narayan, who adds, "We have enough talent but we are not utilizing it properly."
It's show time!
So, how are the playback singers of not-so- long-ago surviving in the profession? While a lot of them are judging reality shows, Supriyo replies, "Through concerts, because the stage is where the difference between singers and non-singers is clearly visible." Adds Ganjawala, "Private albums too are a good way to come out with your original work."
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