The Hindu : New Delhi News : A success that was worth its wait

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Monday, Dec 17, 2007
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New Delhi

A success that was worth its wait

Standing tall: Kunal Ganjawala

The glamour world of Bollywood demands determination and struggle from the newcomers. Kunal Ganjawala, whose song from the film ‘Murder’ was his first super hit, tells this and more to Madhur Tankha.

During his days of struggle in Bollywood, he was asked to hum in the voice of yesteryear’s singers. But playback singer Kunal Ganjawala always wanted to sing in his own original voice and it took him 12 long years to get a break in tinsel town.

Speaking about his journey in the film industry, Kunal says he never knew that he was a gifted singer. “I was neither a bathroom singer nor had I taken music as an extra curricular activity in my school. I began singing only when I was ragged by my seniors as a fresher in Mumbai’s Elphinstone College. I was passing by whistling a tune, when a few of them caught hold of me and asked me to sing a song. I was shocked and told them I had never sung in my entire life. But they argued that if I could whistle tunes so well, I could sing too! With great difficulty I sang ‘Nazar Ke Samne’ from the movie ‘Aashiqui’ and ‘Ek Din Bik Jayega’ from ‘Dharam Karam’. They spared me then, but made me sing in college festivals later.”

Sharing his days of struggle, Kunal says he had to give a reason to music directors to take him in their films. “There is a lot of ‘sangharsh’ in tinsel town. When I came 14 years ago, they were looking for clones. Even though I had grown up listening to Lataji, Ashaji and Mukesh and Kishore Kumar, I wanted to sing only original songs. My parents, who come from a business family, supported me. I was studying commerce in college and wanted to complete my academics because I wanted to gain knowledge.”

Kunal’s breakthrough hit song ‘Bheegey Hont’ from the film ‘Murder’ catapulted him to fame. “I gave my personal touch to that song. After this I got songs that were written with me in mind. I got a chance to sing four songs in Sanjay Leela Bansali’s magnum opus ‘Saawariya’. Before singing for his film, Bhansali told me about the script, lyrics and why the lines were being sung. He is such a perfectionist and took special interest in each song. I rehearsed for a month, while Bhansali had been working on pure melody for the past one and a half years.”

Stating that he wants to sing a few but noteworthy songs, Kunal says: “I want to sing 500 or maximum 1,000 songs but they all must be super hits. Then only the artiste in me will be fully satisfied. I don’t want to end up my career with 50, 000 songs. If music lovers are deciphering badly sung songs then the fault lies with the producers who are not giving sufficient time to music directors to come out with a song. So music has become like fast food. However, producers like Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Amitabh Bachchan, B.R. Chopra, Mahesh Bhatt, Priyadarshan and Vishal Bharadwaj give special attention to all their songs.”

Kunal is confident that specialised singers will soon come on the scene in Bollywood. “We may also produce singers who want to raise social issues through their songs. Jamaican singer Bob Marley had spoken against apartheid in his peppy numbers.”

Speaking about his foray into television, Kunal says initially he was reluctant to judge ‘Amul Star Voice of India -- Chhote Ustaad’ on Star Plus but gave in after the producer convinced him that he will have a say in the selection of contestants. “I was sick and tired of reality shows because the winner was always a wrong contestant. When I was told by the producer that 50 per cent of power will be in the hands of judges, I accepted the offer. We are giving participants different genres of songs. And then figuring out whether they are classically or folk inclined and what is their background, culture and region. We also stress on voice quality, pitching, versatility and their performance.”

While it took him a decade to make a mark as a singer in films, participants in television music shows become celebrities overnight, says Kunal.

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