With Ibn-e-batuta (Ishqiya) and Apni to jaise taise (Housefull) under his belt, Mika Singh has added two more hits to his chartbuster cap. In a candid conversation with Screen, we get acquainted with the musical maverick
Playback singing seems to be a part-time occupation for you despite your high hit percentage. Why is that?
Our entire family back in Punjab has been into music as a full-time occupation that brooks no compromise. When I came to Mumbai it was after three years of planning and a lot of hard work. I am from a school that believes in well-trained complete musicians who compose as well as sing. It is thus necessary to learn not just formal vocal music but also as many instruments as possible - I learnt 50 instruments so that as a composer I know their strengths and zones and am aware of what orchestration I will need for any song. For me, this was a definition of a true-blue composer, whether he was into bands, pop or folk music. My ambition was a minimum one worldwide hit of my own, which I luckily got with Saawan mein lag gayi aag, later used in Woodstock Villa. But when I came here, I realised that over here the guy who makes the tune is known as the music director! It was all so easy! You could get arrangers, musicians, programmers…! Even in playback, anyone could come in!
Which was your first playback song?
That was Dekha jo tujhe yaar from Apna Sapna Money Money under Pritamda. Let me reveal one more fact to you. Punjabi music is an entire culture with a huge fan base across the globe. There are dozens of artistes like my brother Daler Mehndi, Rabbi, Gurdas Mann and so many more who do not need Mumbai and its show business to be famous and successful. Their concerts worldwide have attendances in multiples of shows with top stars from Hindi films! But the ironic part is the public perception that unless you are a part of Mumbai and its film industry you are not supposed to have made much headway as a musician! That is why I thought that I will come down to Mumbai. For me, live shows are still what I am and film music is a periodic indulgence. Shows were my dream and remain as my main source of income.
You also composed Ganpat for Shootout At Lokhandwala.
Sanjay Gupta had recorded another song for the situation. But I told him frankly that that kind of song will not jell with hardened criminals who are singing it on screen. The expressions were all wrong. He agreed and that's how I made the song.
Do you want to do more songs in films as composer?
Stick to what you are good at and try and become better and better is my way of looking at things! You can't listen to flatterers telling you, Arey yaar, tum music direction bhi karo or suggesting that you can become a hero because you are handsome enough and so on! Having said that, I do give inputs on the songs I am called to sing. Most music directors also leave it to me to sing a song in my style. I am also known to give frank opinions of songs to composers!
Is that then the real reason why you sing so less in films?
I believe that if a singer is needed a music director will come to him, so I do not approach them and thus have sung in cinema for very few people like Pritamda, who has used me best, come Mouja hi mouja in Jab We Met, Baalmulaiza from De Dana Dan, Oh by god from Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani or my Apna Sapna.. song. I have sung for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal Bhardwaj, Anu Malik, Anand Raaj Anand and for young composers like Bappa Lahiri and Mithoon. Pritam really makes an effort to give me something different every time. What I also like about him is that his sound quality remains uniform through all his films - he does not compromise if the film has a smaller budget. I also liked the way Mithoon experimented with my voice and made me sing the soft, romantic track Saajana in Lamhaa that was completely new for someone with my image.
How do you see musical trends going today in films and outside?
The line between film and pop music has almost vanished, which in a way is good, and in some aspects bad as well. There is nothing new in the compositions and yet there is occasional freshness, the voices are all different and yet they are strangely similar too! There is no clear demarcation in styles that we saw with R.D.Burman, Kalyanji-Anandji, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Bappi Lahiri.
Reality shows are a boon for new talent, but there is the same problem - the contestants all want to be playback singers! None, for example, would want to make a career out of singing devotional songs.
But the worst thing about film music today is how a music director records one song in five different voices and then chooses, or someone else not connected with the music does so, and we are all at their mercy!
Finally, with Daler being so popular, did you make any special effort to modulate your voice differently?
To an extent, I did, but nature had thankfully made our voices different too.