Meet The Parent, An interview with Sonu's father Options

[Pradeep]

http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=9955

Yes, he is the father of today’s topmost playback singer Sonu Nigam - and proud he is of this fact too. But as far as singing goes, having begun decades before his illustrious son and also having been a major influence in Sonu’s grooming and evolution, Agam would rather be known on his own steam.



And no, he is not being egoistic. Agam may have released only his second album as a singer, but as a stage performer he has been a known name for 30 years around the world for his vocal prowess in his concerts. Also he would rather not have a situation where it is implied that he is taking advantage of his son’s clout and fame to get a slice of glory. Both his albums so far have sold excellently at a time when the music industry is seeing sales plummeting, and as his son puts it, ‘Dad is a star in his own right! I am having competition right at home!’ Excerpts from an interview:

What is Bewafaai all about?
It is an album of good melodious songs that are about bewafaai or unfaithfulness in love. The music has been composed by Nikhil-Vinay and the lyrics are by Praveen Bhardwaj and Asad Ajmeri. What stands out - apart from the strong melody - is the fact that none of the eight songs have a complaining tenor. The first track itself has the jilted lover thanking his beloved for her bewafaai. There is a song that talks of the difference in the way he remembers her and the way she remembers him. This keeps the songs bright and ear-friendly and not like the traditionally sad songs of a betrayed lover.

The album is a big hit already, like your earlier album Uski Yaadon Mein.
I am grateful to God for the success he has given me, and to T-Series for marketing the music so well and for their faith in me. Uski Yaadon Mein in 2002 sold about 4.5 lakhs units, and according to Bhushan (Kumar)-ji, my new album is already doing better than most of the film scores.

What is your own musical background?
Without being unduly modest, I was a famous singer back home in Delhi. I have been singing on stage from the mid-’70s.

What about formal training?
I was never formally trained. That is one regret that I always will have. I mistakenly thought that stage singing was all the riyaaz I needed, so in a way I lacked the technical finesse that a trained singer has.

You always sing Rafi’s songs on stage.
To me, Rafi-saab has no equal. He was my textbook in singing. My voice is original and I do not mimic Rafi-saab, but it is similar to his. On stage I always sing Rafi-saab’s songs. My shows have always been huge successes all over the world and the female singers are all stage singers. Again, without being modest, I am the star of my shows and they are known as ’Agam Kumar Nigam Nites’.

Why did you never try to make it in films? Is it because you were based in Delhi?
No. I did try my luck at films half-heartedly in the ’70s. But I was an artiste of stature on stage and things were going well. So I did not think it was worth taking risks and struggling when I had a family to support and was managing it smoothly.

But in retrospect surely you must be regretting not being able to have the opportunity to sing for the great composers who were around and active then.
Absolutely.

As a Rafi-bhakt, who among the composers do you think took out Rafi-saab’s best?
I am particularly close to the songs Mohammed Rafi-saab sang for Shankar-Jaikishan and Naushad.

Are you planning to sing for films now?
Only if I am offered something good.

Sonu made his playback debut in 1993 - your recording debut happened only in 2002, though you landed in Mumbai around 1991. Why was that?
We left Delhi and came here for Sonu to pursue a career, not for me. By God’s grace he had only a short struggle and he began to move up rapidly despite some stiff competition. After he made it, I would have hated it if someone had said that his father was taking advantage of the son’s stature to fulfill a shouq to record an album. Gulshan (Kumar)-ji had heard me and had liked my voice. Things fell into place when Uski Yaadon Mein came my way, and I thank my fans for making the album a hit. I am also very happy that Bhushan-ji offered me Bewafaai because of the performance of my previous album. In both these albums, I have tried to be original. Apart from my natural vocal similarity to Rafi-saab I have certainly not tried to project myself as a clone.

Singing on stage and recording in a studio on tracks are diverse arts in a way. Did Sonu guide you technically?
I have no hesitation in saying that he did tell me the finer points of what can be called voice-culture.

Sonu tells me that he actually learnt classical music only for a few months with an extraordinary guru.
Some people are sent ready into this world and need only a little bit of polishing, and Sonu is one of them. I was very keen on getting him trained once I knew his aptitude and even more his potential. His guru, Mohammed Tahir-ji was in fact skeptical about grooming him in so short a time because we were shifting to Mumbai in four months and I had told him, ’Aap issein chaar mahine mein taiyyar kar sakoge...’ After the first week, he agreed that I was right!

And how did you first detect that potential?
I remember I was performing to an audience of 20,000 at Jind in Haryana in 1977. My wife was in the wings along with Sonu, then all of four years old, on her lap. The boy was squirming to jump off and come and sing along with me and I was gesturing to my wife to control him! When I began singing ‘Kya hua tera vaada...’ he broke free and came and stood besides me. The organizers were encouraging, the crowd waited as I told him,”This is not a child’s song.” He insisted it was, and mentioned the few lines by Sushma Shrestha! I began the song again, he joined me in perfect cue, aur tab se usne jo microphone pakdaa hai woh aaj tak uske haath mein hain!

[iqbal]

http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=9955

And how did you first detect that potential?
I remember I was performing to an audience of 20,000 at Jind in Haryana in 1977. My wife was in the wings along with Sonu, then all of four years old, on her lap. The boy was squirming to jump off and come and sing along with me and I was gesturing to my wife to control him! When I began singing ‘Kya hua tera vaada...’ he broke free and came and stood besides me. The organizers were encouraging, the crowd waited as I told him,”This is not a child’s song.” He insisted it was, and mentioned the few lines by Sushma Shrestha! I began the song again, he joined me in perfect cue, aur tab se usne jo microphone pakdaa hai woh aaj tak uske haath mein hain!

Thanks Pradeep,

I like this bit!