For many years in Bollywood, singers with high-pitched voices ruled the playback singing industry. Voices such as icon Lata Mangeshkar’s became the standard for the recording style where singers recorded songs for actors to lip-synch on screen.
But as Bollywood evolved, so did the all-important song-and-dance sequences, still a mainstay in many films. The tide began to change about a decade ago, says singer Rekha Bhardwaj, who recorded her first song for a Bollywood film in 1997.
Bhardwaj, who is married to acclaimed music composer and film director Vishal Bhardwaj, has since made a name for herself with many iconic soulful hits including Namak Ishq Ka (from the film Omkara, 2006) to Sasural Genda Phool (Delhi-6, 2008) and Kabira (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, 2013) and Judaai, from the film, Badlapur, earlier this year.
The Indian National Award-winner returns for a performance this weekend to Dubai, where she will share the stage with singer Kailash Kher at an event called Star Live. Reality star Gauahar Khan and upcoming singer Darshal Raval (Jeena Jeena from Badlapur) are also part of the line-up.
Bhardwaj spoke to tabloid! about her upcoming performance, how she thinks the industry has evolved and where she plans to be five years from now:
Welcome back to Dubai, Rekha. What can fans look forward to from your performance this weekend?
Thank you. Fans can expect to hear my most popular songs along with the recent hits like Judaai from Badlapur, Mileya Mileya from Happy Ending and songs like Sasural Genda Phool, Hamari Atariya Pe, Kabira and Dama Dam Mast Qalander and Tere Bin Nahin Lagda by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan saab.
If you could only perform live or sing playback, which would you choose, and why?
I would choose both. Because singing for films or doing playback is a different high. Recording for films gives me the opportunity to widen my audience because when a song becomes a hit, it takes me to more and more people. So when I perform live, I get that instant energy and reaction from the audience. Performing live has always been my passion since my childhood.
You’ve been in the business for more than 20 years, how has performing live changed over the years?
These days, it’s all about the presentation. With all these reality shows and their popularity, the visuals are as important as the actual performance. So people take care about what they’re wearing, how the band looks etc.
What about playback singing? How has it changed from your perspective?
A lot. About 10 years ago, we used to have more high-pitched voices for main songs. Now, all the bass or low-pitched voices sing the main songs in films. Male singers now sing on the very high-pitched parts and female voices take the lower octave of the same song. Take the song Judaai from Badlapur for instance, I sing on a very, very low octave. And Arijit Singh sings on a higher pitch. That change has happened.
My only issue is with the quality of lyrics that has been greatly affected, because we now have a lot of young lyricists using languages that they are not very well aware of. For example, when they use words like khuda or khatam, they use it without putting the right phonetic or nuqta (a diacritic mark to represent sound) as we say in Urdu. That is disappointing. They use Urdu words but they don’t care how the singer is pronouncing them. What will then happen is we will have a whole generation who don’t know how to say the right word because people who created the songs themselves don’t know any better.
You continue to work with your husband, who is an acclaimed composer as well as film director. Are there other music composers, besides Vishal, that you are more comfortable working with?
I am comfortable working with all music directors. Many of them call me when they compose a song with me in mind or when they feel only I can do justice that song. So I have that love and affection from many of them, and I share a good rapport with them.
You didn’t sing in as many films last year as you did the previous years. Is Rekha Bhardwaj slowing down?
It’s not the singer who selects the song. It’s the music director, producer and director of the film. I sing whatever songs I get. Last year, I was not in Mumbai for three months because I was abroad doing shows and had to take my son for summer school. So I lost out on a lot of projects. It’s not about slowing down, its about getting songs.
What are your other projects/films coming up?
I recently recorded a song for Meghna Gulzar’s upcoming film, then I did some songs for a Pakistani film and have a few other projects lined up. I am also working on a new album and by the end of the year I hope to have a few singles if not a new album.
Where will we see Rekha Bhardwaj five years from now?
You can’t say anything about tomorrow. I’ll be wherever destiny takes me. And if I am still alive, singing for sure.
Don’t miss it
Star Live featuring Rekha Bhardwaj, Kailash Kher, Gauahar Khan and Darshan Raval, is on June 12 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Tickets, starting at Dh150, are available on platinumlist.net.
