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Mahendra Kapoor

The Legend Returns

Earlier, music was more melodious and original. Today, there are more of manipulations, but we cannot blame the music directors for this. Even the words are mere tukbandi.

Pop is nothing but the old rhythm of our bhangra music. With new techniques, it has been modernised. They have added drums and the keyboard to give it a western touch

Even after four decades in film music, the legendary Mahendra Kapoor’s voice is still young. His room is adorned with various trophies that he has acquired as a playback singer. The Padmashri is the most prominent among them, followed by numerous Filmfare awards, the Punjab state and Gujarat state awards and several others.

The first feather in his cap, Kapoor says, was his bagging the very first National Award for his song Mere desh ki dharti in Upkar. Sitting comfortably on his diwan, this gentleman from the old school says reminisces, “My ustad used to say that singing is like wrestling. If you are healthy, even old age cannot affect your singing adversely. Even though the voice may become weak, the sur and taal never fades.”

Thanks to his guru’s wisdom and blessings, Kapoor is still singing. In fact, the veteran of several thousand songs is now giving singers less than half his age a run for their money, by cutting pop albums. Predictably, his Ankh lad gayee did good business.

According to him, “pop is nothing but the old rhythm of our bhangra music. With new techniques, it has been modernised. They have added drums and the keyboard to give it a western touch.” Kapoor believes that his pop album was very traditional. And before one can say “pop”, Kapoor is already working on his next album Gal Sun, which has lyrics by Shyam Anuragi and will be released by RPG.

Because of the lyrics that he has selected, Kapoor feels that this album will be very different from other pop albums. It has the rubaiyian of Bulle Shah, which are written in praise of God. It also has poetry by Amrita Pritam, Waris Shah and Sher Khan Batalavi.

Pop music and serious poetry sound contradictory. How does one work on the fusion of these two? “We are working very hard on them so that there is no conflict. That is why it is taking so long to complete. Once it is done, it will turn out to be something very unique,” Kapoor says. In the beginning of the album, he has given an introduction of the content so that people can relate better to the subject. It is scheduled for a January release.

His other album, Ma Tere Jogi Aa Gaye, was released during Navratri by Zee Music. This album has turned out be a real quickie with Kapoor recording the songs in just six days. It was produced mainly to capitalise on the Navratri festival.

Although it may appear to be a rush job in order to capitalise on marketing opportunities, Kapoor firmly believes that the hard work and dedication involved in such albums is the same as that in any other. “I don’t agree that cassettes made to utilise a marketing opportunity have no depth. A singer always puts his soul in his songs, otherwise he cannot last. Although we did it in a short time, that doesn’t mean that the efforts were any lesser. In fact, I sang one bhajan in qawwali style which is a new concept. It has come out very well. Besides, all the music companies do need to earn so why should they not use the seasonal opportunities. They just have to make sure that nothing is produced that is of a low standard.”

What Kapoor does not like is the way some people use film tunes for bhajans. “It is such an insult to religious sentiments. It proves their sastapan (cheap standards). It is this kind of capitalisation on the demand for devotional music which is wrong,” he says.

After Kalinga, Kapoor appeared to have almost quit playback singing. But he has bounced back with Sunny Deol’s Dillagi, for which he has sung one song. According to him, what prompted him to come back to film songs was his friendship with Dharmendra and his affection for Jatin-Lalit. “They wanted to use my range, otherwise today what is there to sing?” he asks acidly. He is also singing for another film produced by Dharmendra which has music by Sukhvinder.

Kapoor appears visibly nostalgic when asked to compare the compositions during his heyday to music being created these days. “Earlier, music was more melodious and original. Today, there are more of manipulations, but we cannot blame the music directors for this. Even the words are mere tukbandi,” he laments. He however adds that “good producers do take care of music and still churn out hummable tunes but others just make do with chaaloo music.” And this is something he finds very unnerving.

In spite of these reservations, however, Kapoor is not one to berate everything that is new in the world of music. In fact, instead of constantly harping on the good old days, he appears to be quite open to new trends. One being that of music videos. “Instead of listening to music, people prefer to watch music. That makes the music video so essential to sell one’s album. Visuals make a lasting impression on people,” he says. This, he feels, is necessary in view of the increased competition in the music industry.

But as for the vocal prowess of these “singers”, Kapoor does not mince words. “Everybody has a right to sing but sometimes stage singers, who are copying other singers, feel that they have mastered the art. It is not true. When they copy the song of another singer, they also steal the emotions of that singer. When it comes to singing their own song, they are not able to inject emotions into it. Thus, their singing lacks the “soul” which makes a song memorable and their album sounds a little hollow,” he explains.

But instead of simply criticising the quality of music in the nineties, Kapoor has decided to do something about it. He has consented to be on the panel of judges for the recently launched Zee Sangeet Awards. “Nobody else has given so much importance to the music industry. In other award functions, music is a mere segment, whereas it is an entirely separate industry. It can make or break the film,” he says, explaining why he chose to be included in the panel.

He promises to do proper justice to these awards by going into the depth of each nominated song. “No one will be able to object to our selection because we know the soul of music.”

Still he does riyaaz every day. His favourite raags are ‘Yaman, Surya Bhairav and Pahadi.’ Most of his songs are sung in these raags and went on to join the ranks of memorable. Songs like In havaon mein in fizaon mein, Bhool sakta hai bhala kaun ye pyari ankhen, Chalo ik bar phir se and Aa jao aa bhi jao can still stir the hearts of the listeners. If he has the backing of good music and lyrics, he can still touch the heart and soul of the listeners. Otherwise, according to him what is there in today’s songs to sing!

Neelam Gupta