NEWS

Lata-Asha voice difference of opinion on remixes
The famed sibling rivalry between Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, two of the greatest singers in India, which had toned down in the past years, is yet again showing signs of flaring up after the two sisters expressed their difference of opinion over the present music scenario in the media.

Sometime back, Lata vociferously expressed her strong dislike for the present music trend, especially the sudden splurge of remix albums, which according to her were causing unimaginable harm to music. She is of the opinion that remixing old hits destroys the soul of the song. One can easily read a subtle hint to sis Asha, who has been in tune with the times, singing pop songs and remixing the old hits which she had sung for R.D. Burman like Piya tu ab to aaja and O mere sona re.

According to Asha, remix is here to stay and is the need of the hour. The singer, who in her ageless voice, continues to belt out hit songs for youngsters with ease, feels that remixing is harmless, and is the best way of helping golden oldies reach out to the new generation. This, coming from a singer who has always moved with the times (she was among the first to sing cabaret numbers raising eyebrows in an otherwise prude era), is food for thought.

With the title of ‘The Grandma of Indipop’ being bestowed on her, after the super success of her pop and remix albums, Asha is the hottest among old singers today, who has fans both in the old and the new MTV and Channel [V] generation. Her penchant for trying out new ideas even led her to sing an English pop number with the Western pop group Code Red. She also won four Channel [V] awards for the pop album Janam Samjha Karo.

Asha says that she would like to be remembered as a singer for all times and she doesn’t want to be known only for her old hits. She is proud when teenagers and kids come to her and say that they are her great fans. This, she feels, is only because of her new songs. According to Asha, the demand is greater for the remix version of Chura liya than the original. But she agrees that there is a disadvantage when youngsters take Chura liya as a Bally Sagoo number instead of a R.D. Burman number. Which is why she points out that artists should remix their own songs, like she did in Rahul And I.

On April 14, Asha enthralled the new generation with her live performance at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Calcutta. The singer, whose versatility can be seen when she renders with equal ease a ghazal, a lavni or a classical number, says that there is hardly any style of singing which she has yet to try out.

Even after singing about 11,000 songs, Asha hasn’t had enough and is still raring to go. And she is of the opinion that there are many talented music directors, like A.R. Rahman and Tushar Bhatia, who give her challenging songs to sing.

The singer is planning to release a book next year, tentatively titled Yeh Hai Asha.

Rahman records in Mumbai
Rahman recorded a song in Mumbai. The news did create a flutter (though the producers of the film feel it’s nothing to create a hue and cry about), since it is a well known fact that the whiz-kid of music doesn’t do his recordings in Mumbai, and insists that the songs should be recorded only at his hi-tech studio in Chennai. In fact, recording the songs in Chennai is one of the conditions a producer has to agree to when he signs on Rahman. Javed Akhtar, who most often writes lyrics for Rahman, also flies down to Chennai whenever there is a recording. So, when sometime back, Rahman recorded a song for Glamour Films’ yet untitled venture, starring Jackie Shroff, Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla, and directed by Shashilal Nair in Mumbai, it made news. According to Tanvir Ahmed, an associate of producer Nazir Ahmed of Glamour Films, this is perhaps the first time that Rahman has recorded a complete song in Mumbai.

Rahman recorded the song at 4-D Recording Studio, Worli. It was sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Sonu Nigam, and the lyrics were written by Mehboob. How did the producers convince Rahman to record the song in Mumbai? Was it because of Lata Mangeshkar that the song was recorded here? “Rahman himself wanted to record the song in Mumbai,” insists Ahmed, “He had brought his own hard disc with the track recorded in it. He did the dubbing of the song here, that’s it. So there was no major change for him as such because he had already brought his track here.”

Rahman, who shares a great rapport with Asha Bhosle, who in turn has sung some of the biggest hits for him in Rangeela and Daud, is now working with her didi, Lata. This is the second time he has recorded a song with Lata. The first song he had recorded with her was for the Mani Ratnam-film Dil Se, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala.

The song recorded in Mumbai was the first for the untitled film and will be picturised on Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. Will the remaining songs also be recorded in Mumbai? “It depends on the convenience of Rahman, whether he wants to record the remaining songs in Mumbai,” says Ahmed.