INTERVIEW : AN OUTING WITH 'ASHA'
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<<Asha Bhosle is 72 year old, but her voice still sounds sweet and resounding. She is all set to tell about her self-titled album ‘Asha’. The album is reverence to the four Ghazal greats Farida Khannum, Mehdi Haasan, Ghulam Ali and Jagjit Singh, in the voice of Asha Bhosle. She is a skillful Ghazal singer and has sung many popular ghazal numbers over the years of her career. The most memorable ones are for Khayyam in ‘Umrao Jaan’ and ‘Ahista Ahista’.
Excerpts from the Interview :
You’ve done a striking thing by re-doing the great ghazal numbers of the era in your self-titled album. Tell us something more about it.
It’s a mammoth task to try and replicate the songs of the ghazal maestros in my voice. The work was almost impossible and one of the most challenging. It’s easy to sing the original versions. I was also aware that with the re-recording I was inviting trouble. But I feel that my effort has been successful by enlivening the essence of Mehdi Hassan, Farida Khannum, Ghulam Ali and Jagjit Singh.
How do you react to the controversies that are erupting due to the album ?
Challenges and controversies are nothing new to me. In this case I was already ready that the classicist might take an offence to it. But the blame shouldn’t come on me alone. People nowadays in the name of music are plagiarizing songs and picking numbers to mould it according to themselves. The remix albums that are so much in vogue are popular songs sung by renowned singers. The remixers pick the number, add some music, get a girl, make a video and it becomes a hit.
Have you remixed the numbers in the album ‘Asha’ ?
I’ve kept the songs as original as they had been. The songs hasn’t been touched or remixed. Even the notes or lyrics have not been meddled with. I’ve only updated the instruments. But the criticizers are forever to remain true to their titles. I’ve been criticized many times and this includes the album ‘Rahul & I’. But I felt it to be my offering of R.D.Burman’s songs to the modern generation.
How did you come upon the idea to make a self-titled ghazal album based on the songs of the veteran ghazal singers ?
The mastermind behind the album was composer Pandit Somesh Mathur. He persuaded me for four years until I finally gave in. After that I heard the songs and did two months of preparation. After hearing the songs for more than 50 times, I’ve sung it. But it took me just nine hours to record the whole album. I got in to the hang of the album once I started singing and there was no stopping me after that.
Have you met all the singers you’ve sung the numbers for ?
Not all, but I do have association with some of them. I respect Farida Khannum as a singer though I’ve never met her. Mehdi Hassan to me is a legend who can never be replicated. Ghulam Ali is a great vocalist besides being a good human being. We’ve done the celebrated album ‘Meraj-e-Ghazal’ together. Jagjit Singh is also a great singer with whom I’ve sung many film songs.
What are your plans from here ?
I’ve planned to make a pop album remixing my old numbers. But now I’ve a long tour on cards. I’ve a concert in Singapore and Euro-America tour with an LA-based western classical outfit called Kronos Quartet.>>
MusicIndiaOnline, 2005
Zayed
