On a singing spree
|
Fresh voices Suzie Q, Benny Dayal, Caralisa Monteiro and Dominique Cerejo rock Bollywood. harshikaa udasi tunes in
|
The new voice of bollywood (clockwise from top left) Dominique Cerejo, Suzie Q and Benny Dayal
Susanne D’ Mello had a problem. Whenever she auditioned for Bollywood playback singing, her voice would stick out among that of the other aspirants for the job. About a dozen years ago, when she went for an audition for Jatin-Lalit’s music, all she ended up doing was some backing vocals.
Cut to 2008. Suzie Q aka Susanne D’ Mello is the name on every music director’s lips, with chartbusting tracks in seven films to her credit — Golmaal Returns (‘Meow’, ‘Thaa karke’); Hello (title track); Singh Is Kinng (‘Jee karda’); Kidnap (‘Hey ya’); Ghajini (‘Aye bachchoo’); Slumdog Millionaire (‘Dreams on fire’, ‘Latika’s theme’); and Jumbo (‘Everything’s gonna be alright’). “My strength lies in R&B vocals, and because of the Catholic tag, Bollywood music directors assumed I could never sing Hindi lyrics. But the scene today is very different. Though they still want to stick to a certain kind of sound, I have managed to make it,” she says.
If you are still sceptical of her popularity, listen to this. In the forthcoming Hrithik Roshan film Kites, when you hear the hunk croon next to his co-star and Latin singer Barbara Mori, remember that he has been tutored by Suzie Q. “Hrithik was a revelation. He can identify notes and has a natural three-and-a-half to four octave range. By the way, he sings English songs better than Hindi, and I trained him to sing a beautifully romantic number,” she reveals.
Suzie Q is not the only one breaking down the Western-style-singers-can’t-sing myth. Remember the voice of ‘Pappu can’t dance saala’? That’s Benny Dayal for you. Born in Kerala, and brought up in the Gulf, Benny came to Chennai mainly to try his luck with playback singing. “I could sing in various languages — Arabic, English, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi, and kept getting work, initially as chorus, and later on as solo. But, my big break was definitely when A.R. Rahman picked me up for his songs,” says Benny.
He is the voice behind ‘Maduraikku pogadhedi’ and ‘Nee Marilyn Monroe’ (from Azhagiya Thamizh Magan), ‘Neeye sol’ (from Polladhavan) and ‘Chinnamma chilakkamma’ and ‘Taxi… Taxi’ (from Sakkarakatti).
This year, when he appeared as solo singer in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na with ‘Pappu can’t dance saala’, he rocked the nation. “Abbas Tyrewala was amazed and said ‘I can’t believe this guy is from Kerala!’ That night itself, I recorded one more song for his film — Nazarein Milana Nazarein Churana,” he laughs.
Then came the mellifluous ‘Tu hi to mera dost hai’ from Rahman’s Yuvvraaj again. That the composer is totally taken in by his voice is certain as Benny has sung in Ghajini too – ‘Kaise mujhe’. “I love doing R&B, Blues, even Arabic, and I hope I get enough chances to show what I am capable of,” says Benny.
Singers such as Suzie Q and Benny Dayal are rising mainly from the myriad rock and pop bands across cities. Suzie Q, who has styled her voice after her icon Mariah Carey, used to sing at The Apollo Bar at The Taj Mahal Palace and Towers, Mumbai, and at Centaur, Mumbai, with different bands. She also has a nine-member band called ‘License To Funk’ that mainly covers R&B, funk and groove. Ditto Benny. He is part of two bands — an acoustics-only ‘On Vibrator Mode’ and ‘Rainbow Bridge’.
So what has changed so dramatically on the Hindi film scene that ‘western-style’ singers are getting their place under the sun? Music composer Shekhar Ravjiani (of Vishal-Shekhar), says: “Many years ago, you had an Usha Uthup or a Bhupinder Singh, with their unique singing style, come and do the occasional song. They lent a new texture to the composition. Now the market has really opened up and even music directors are looking for freshness in the voice. It depends on how contemporary a script is and how open the director is to incorporate a unique voice. I think there is a whole new lot out there — Raman (‘Kholo kholo darwaze’ from Taare Zameen Par and in Rock On, ‘Heyy Baby’ and ‘Johnny Gaddaar’), Anoushka Manchanda, Dominique Cerejo, Caralisa Monteiro (‘Phir dekhiye’ from Rock On).” Dominique Cerejo, the singer, who mesmerised listeners with her rendition of ‘Yeh tumhari meri baatein’ in Rock On, says: “With new music directors making their foray into Bollywood, what we refer to as Bollywood music is in a new phase of evolution. A few of the recent songs have a much more global appeal, and music directors are always looking out for fresh voices and singers who bring a lot of individuality and personality to the song.” She has been part of several bands, including Faces in the Dark that she is currently associated with.
Each of these singers wants to continue in Bollywood, but the desire to come out with their own album is burning bright. Dominique is working on two films and her own album. Says Suzie Q: “I have written a lot of lyrics for the songs I have sung, and also arranged the vocals. It was one of my specialties that helped me get a lot of work. I feel that even now our type of singing is still typecast. I want to come out with my kind of sound. Bollywood music is becoming so hep that it’s difficult to differentiate between that and pop culture.” She has songs from Veer, Har Pal, Hello Darling and a crossover Rajshri film, and is also working on a single along with other singers, against terrorism. Also, in the pipeline are two albums with flautist Ashvin Srinivasan.
We are all ears!
* * *
