Thursday, July 21, 2005

play(back) it again...

Just something that struck me listening to an old number on the radio last evening. Not all singers have it in them, I guess. If you look at our movies, some singers have voices made for the actor. You know it don't you? Won't list them out here. But what amazes me is earlier playback singers used to modulate their voices to suit the actor's voice. Kishore Kumar had a different voice for all his heroes - Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan and even Sanjeev Kumar! Sanjeev Kumar is one actor who had a unique voice. Of course mimic artists could mimic him easily but singing in a voice like his? I remember especially, in 'Aandhi', the way kishore has sung for him, you'd believe Sanjeev Kumar himself was singing! Here, down south, SP has that knack. And like Sanjeev Kumar up north, Shankar Nag's was a difficult voice to bring out while singing. But SP would do it, effortlessly. These guys are amazing.

14 comments:

Arunima said...

yup! SP is one of my favourites too. :-)

d4u said...

Yup..these playback singers r really amazin!! They back the artistes so realistically.
Another song in which I couldnt differentiaite who complemented who was the title song of "Sharaabi"...the Kishore-Amitabh combination!

Swathi Sambhani aka Chimera said...

SP singing for Anant Nag? was that in Kannada films?
n i used to think whoever sang for Rajesh Khanna sounded like him alwayz :)
or was it 'coz most of his songs were beautiful

sanguine said...

ya so true . even the women sang keepin in mind the heroine on whom the songs had to picturised .
lata mangeshkar singin for nutan .

now a days a shaan , abhijeet , udit narayan,alka yagnik , shreya ghoshal.. all of them sound like themselves all the time. one wud think with technology's help they wud better the style.
methinks, sonu nigam n sunidhi chauhan of the lot are the only ones who attempt to sound a little different.

Anonymous said...

what quick updates.. i seem to be failing to catch up.. :)

Tabula_Rasa said...

Versatile...thatz what the yesteryear singers were,especially the talented Kishore kumar who never really got his due.

Akruti said...

Ya,its amazing,Hemantkumar singing for dharmendra,or sudeshbhosley singing for Amitab, and many more now a days have such talent,shaan,abhijeet and shreya,and SP is my fav too:)

phatichar said...

arunima: :)

d4u: Oh yeah, 'imtihaan ho gayi is one of my favs too...'

Parna: :) yeah...doesn't make sense does it? See how many people here reminded me of other greats in playback singing?

SP is S P Balasubramaniam. Remember songs from 'Maine Pyar Kiya' or say...even 'Ek Dujhe ke Liye?' That's SP's voice..

Swathi: Yeah..Anant and also his brother, Shankar Nag. Rajesh had some great songs to his credit... yup.

Sanguine: True...nowadays singers are conscious of their on-screen presence as well (TV shows etc.), so they've to carve out their own identities I guess..

aqua: Really? never noticed. That's how it is..some days words just don't come out..and some days...

nomadic_waves:You bet..! He's my fav' singer. In fact, I used to imitate him whenever I sang in college functions..

Akruti :)

lucky.easy.free: :) Thanx. you're free to drop in anytime. Take care..

Anonymous said...

did i speak a little too soon? no updates for the last coupla days haa. all well i hope?

phatichar said...

aqua: here, i'm again..posted something just now :)

worma said...

Phatichar its 'intehaa ho gayi...' in Sharabi. Although my favourite is 'Manzilein apni jagah..' from the same movie. Not only did Kishore modulate for Amitabh, he even emoted through the voice ! I remember thinking how could that man have sung so without actually being close to breaking down !! Well, thats genuis I guess.

And hey, nice blog, just discovered.

phatichar said...

worma: thanx worma..u'll welcome anytime

Anonymous said...

Nice post, cool topic.
Playback singers modulating their voices to suit the actor - I immediately got reminded of how the great Mohd. Rafi changed his style & voice whenever he sang for Johnny Walker.
"Zara bachke, zara hatke, yeh hai Bambai Meri jaan", "Sarr jo tera chakraye".

phatichar said...

taks: yeah, Mohd. Rafi was known for that..who can forget the unforgettable nos. he sang for the great Shammi Kapoor?