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 She’s
image-conscious and says she wouldn’t really sing the mobile
number kind of songs. Meet Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s discovery,
singer Shreya Ghoshal, who sings for Aishwarya Rai in Devdas...
Shreya Ghoshal’s
sweet voice strikes you when you start talking to her. It made an
impact on Sanjay Leela Bhansali too, two years back, when he heard
her on Sa Re Ga Ma, and decided to launch her as as a singer in
Devdas. Today, 18-year-old Shreya is looking forward to being listened
to as Aishwarya Rai’s voice in Bhansali’s ambitious film.
“I am all excited and nervous, but I am confident that the
songs will be liked,” says the debutant singer.
It was Shreya’s
father who coaxed her to take up singing since he felt she had it
in her. “Dad is an electronics engineer with the Nuclear Power
Corporation, but he is quite fond of music. When I started singing
at the age of four, dad felt that I should take it up seriously.
My Naniji is a classical singer and my mother too is a good singer,
though she doesn’t sing professionally. So I guess it came
down to me from them. But had it not been for my dad egging me on,
I would never have made it into a career.”
With her father
by her side, Shreya entered the state level singing competition
from her hometown Kota, in Rajasthan, and won it. “It was my
first competition and winning it was a big boost. I then took part
in the national level competition, the All India Light Vocal competition,
in New Delhi, and ended up winning that too. Kalyanji-Anandji, Rajan-Sajan
Mishra were among the judges. I remember the year was 1994 and I
was 10 years old, and I had sung the song from Lekin, Suno ji araj
mari...’,” she recalls.
At around the
same time, Sa Re Ga Ma commenced telecast and Shreya’s father
felt she needed to be on the show. “I recorded a song on a
cassette at home and send it, and in a month’s time I was called
for the audition. Since I was just 11, I was a part of the Children’s
Special of Sa Re Ga Ma, and ended up winning it. Kalyanji, who was
the judge here too, asked me to shift to Mumbai to hone my singing
talent. My father also felt the same, and he took a transfer here.
After that, for a year-and-a-half I learnt singing from Kalyanji.
Presently I am training in classical singing under Mukta Bhide,”
she informs.
Things took
an unexpected turn for the better when, one fine day, she got a
call from Gajendra Singh of Sa Re Ga Ma asking her to take part
in the second mega-finals. “I was surprised since I was just
14 then, and didn’t qualify as a senior participant. But Gajendraji
asked me to participate since one of the finalists didn’t turn
up, and he felt I had a good chance of winning it,” she says,
“And would you believe it, I won the mega-finals. It was in
that Sa Re Ga Ma episode that Bhansaliji noticed me. And what impressed
him was the fact that I was singing his favourite song, a Meera
bhajan.”
Shreya tells
us that when Bhansali wanted to contact her to sing for Devdas,
he didn’t remember her name and got it from Gajendra Singh.
“I remember the date, it was March 9, 2000. Bhansaliji called
me up and asked me to meet him. I couldn’t believe it, and
was too stunned to react,” she says, “When we met, he
asked me to sing some Lata Mangeshkar songs. Later, he had me sing
a song from Devdas, and liked the way I sang it. He then told me
I would be singing for Devdas.”
Her first professional recording was an experience she’ll always
cherish, says the young singer. “I went to the recording studio
and Sanjay uncle and composer Ismail Darbarji asked me to get comfortable
with the mike. They then asked me to get acquainated with the song,
which was Bairi piya...’ and sing it casually. After I finished
singing the song, they revealed to me that it was the final take.
Sanjay uncle was so happy he gave me a hug. He then told me that
had I been informed beforehand that it was the final take, I would
have become conscious, and maybe not sung it confidently,”
she says.
If ‘Bairi
piya...’ was a cakewalk, recording the next number ‘Silsila
ye chahat ka...’, Shreya’s solo song in the film, was
a bit tough. “I just couldn’t get the mood of the song
right. And after some takes, I started crying. But Ismailji and
Sanjay uncle were very encouraging and told me I could do it. Their
faith in me did the trick, and after that I got the song just right.
After the recording, Bhansaliji and Ismailji said since I do a better
job after I cry, they would make me cry everytime before the recording,”
she laughs.
Shreya has
sung five of the 10 songs in the film, and is the voice of Aishwarya
Rai, who plays Paro. “The fifth song has me singing just three
lines, but I have been given the credit,” she says. Though
Bhansali was the guiding force, Shreya says she did her homework
and tried to grasp the situations. “I first read the novel
and it had me crying throughout. Before recording the songs, we
had a lot of rehearsals, and I was involved in the making of the
tracks right from the beginning,” she says, “Bhansaliji
was of course instrumental in me getting the right mood. He’d
explain the situations in detail, and help me get the apt expressions.”
And did she
keep in mind the fact that she was singing for Aishwarya Rai? “Not
Aishwarya Rai, I had to keep in mind that I was singing for Paro,”
she points out, “It’s always the character one has to
sing for, not the actress. I can’t change my voice according
to the actress. A singer’s voice ultimatley ends up suiting
whoever is singing it on screen. But yes, the character has to be
understood and the expressions given by the singer should match
the artiste’s feelings on screen. Also a composer explains
the song, but the singer gives the colour to it through his/her
understanding.”
Besides ‘Bairi
piya...’ and ‘Silsila yeh chahat ka...’, Shreya has
sung ‘Chhalak chhalak...,’ and ‘Dola re dola...’.
Which is her favourite song? “I like every song. Every song
of the film is appealing. There’s versatility in the score.
Though Ismailji’s score is classically inclined, according
to the theme of the film, and there are some mujras, there are peppy
songs too, though not with techno beats. ‘Maar daala...’
is already being liked and other songs too should endear themselves
to the people.” But she must be having a preference for a number?
Thinking a bit, she answers, “Yes, I like ‘Dola re dola...’,
the competition dance number bewteen Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya
Rai.”
So after the classy songs of Devdas, will she sing the racy, What
is mobile number kind of songs too? “I don’t think I’d
like to sing such songs, though they are the youthful kind of songs,
and preferred by the masses. The words of a song matter to me and
they should be meaningful. I am very image-conscience,” she
explains, “And after the high standard of songs for Devdas,
I don’t think anybody would approach me with these mobile number
kind of songs.”
Shreya did
get singing offers, but since she was busy with her exams, and later
since Bhansali wanted to launch her, she couldn’t take up any
of them. Says she, “I am now looking forward to singing for
films. But I think I’ll be selective.”
Like all upcoming
singers, Shreya too idolises Lata Mangeshkar. “Nobody can surpass
her,” the singer gushes, “And I just love Rafiji and Talat
Mehmood, whose voice quality is unmatchable. Also, I like Ashaji’s
(Bhosle) adas and nakhras.”
And she has
a dream too. “Maybe, sometime later in life, when I get older
with experience, I’d like to sing those kind of tough compositions,
especially the Meera bhajans that Lataji sang for Hridaynath Mangeshkar,”
she hopes.
—Salma
Khatib
salmakhatib@hotmail.com
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