CHENNAI: If you have grown up in the 90s, you wouldn’t have missed listening to a list of ghazals. Among them, Padmashree awardee Pankaj Udhas has rendered a number of hit songs like Chitthi aai hai, Jiye toh jiye, Aur aahista and many more. Pankaj has played a major role in defining ghazal music. CE caught up with the singer, who will be in the city for a performance.Excerpts follow….
How popular is Ghazal music today? Is it receiving the right kind of appreciation and importance?
Ghazal is still popular today; it is an age old tradition and still receives much love and appreciation. For example, every year a ghazal festival, Khazana, takes place in Mumbai. The festival goes from late evening to early morning and it’s almost always a full house.
A lot of youngsters confuse ghazal and Sufi music. How would you explain the differences to them?
Sufi is a traditional form of poetry that revolves mainly around spirituality and divineness. It is even considered as divine music whereas ghazal is a genre of music that has been around for centuries and expresses various emotions. Ghazal takes about everything on this planet as a subject; it talks about love, heartbreak and even current trends.
In the 90’s we had dedicated ghazal singers, but today there are hardly any mainstream singers. People learn classical music, but most want to get into playback singing. How should we popularise ghazal music?
Earlier audio labels used to make albums and release CDs of artistes; they earned revenue out of it and then invested in young talents. Now that CDs and albums are not coming out, most big music labels are not into developing young artistes or releasing albums, and youngsters feel that their talent is more appreciated in playback singing. We can popularise ghazal singing by encouraging them and introducing them to the right audience who enjoy ghazals.
How popular are ghazals in South India? The language used in ghazals is mostly Persian, Urdu or Hindi. What about people who may not understand the language?
From my experience, it is phenomenal in South India. I was shocked seeing their love and support. Back in those days, South Indians were fond of migrating to the Gulf countries. I recall a company named Thompson used to sell pirated copies of ghazal music there. When these immigrants found their way back to their homes, they took ghazals with them.
You have also sung for movies. Both ghazals and film songs have different emotions. What is the difference/similarity you find between these genres?
The difference is that in playback singing you have to be the voice for a different person on screen. Your voice has to justify their actions. As the audience sees a person on screen and understands their emotions through their actions and expressions, I feel playback singing is more of miming the actors through voice. I always admired Mohammad Rafi’s talent to do that.
Subtlety is crucial in the lyrics for ghazals. Are there enough lyricists who can give a certain nuance required for it?
Oh yes! An abundance of talented poets exist in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other similar countries who have mastered the art of poetry in subtle and beautiful nuances.
What is your take on film music of today? How much has music changed over the years?
This generation is making full use of all available technologies in music. Back in those days, we used to really work hard on every project.
Pankaj Udhas will perform live at the Forum Mall on July 28 from 6.30 pm onwards. For tickets, visit
www.bookmyshow.com and for details, call: 49049000