A soulful singer on the wing
ANJANA RAJAN
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Popular vocalist Radhika Chopra is proud of sticking to the traditional style of ghazal singing.
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No matter how much you sing, commercial recognition is very important
PHOTO: ANU PUSHKARNA
POISED FOR THE BIG BREAK Ghazal singer Radhika Chopra in New Delhi
She has just returned from London, where she went for two concerts at the Nehru Centre but ended up giving six others arranged by impressed listeners. That is a gratifying thought, but what excites Radhika Chopra more these days is the prospect of soon performing in Kashmir.
"Jammu is my home town and I keep going back there, but I last went to Kashmir in 1988 and could never go back because of the troubled circumstances. So I'm very excited about this," says Radhika about her concerts to be held in Tagore Hall, Srinagar and the Abhinav theatre in Jammu. "J&K used to be culturally very vibrant," she remarks, adding that the climate for the arts has been improving over the past few years.
A disciple of the veteran Shanti Hiranand, from whom she has learnt the thumri and dadra forms of Hindustani music, Radhika is proud to remain a traditionalist in terms of ghazal presentation. "Most singers see things from the commercial point of view, so they sing what `clicks' with audiences," says Radhika, pointing out that what passes in the name of ghazal today is actually `geet numa ghazal' with peppy tunes, fast beats and relatively easier poetry, rather than the serious ghazals of poets such as Ghalib, Mir, Momin and others, and the raga-based singing of the traditionalists.
"But I'm very contented that I am into traditional gayaki," she asserts. "Partly because my guru Shanti Hiranand was a disciple of Begum Akhtar. Also because my father, who though not trained, was a natural singer, passionate about it, and I've grown up listening to him singing in that style."
Besides, points out Radhika, who also has shows lined up in Bhopal, Moscow, Nairobi, Karachi, besides more on public demand in and around London, not to mention Delhi, at the ICCR's Thumri Festival in September, the audience reaction to her singing is always so warm that it cannot be said the traditional style has given way to the ornamental, somewhat filmi style epitomised by some of the popular singers today. Her own favourites include Mehdi Hasan and Farida Khannum, whom she has grown up listening to and says she has learnt a lot from.
"I'm also very inspired by Jagjit Singh, though his style is very different," she adds.
Radhika, who also sings thumri, dadra and Punjabi folk, is looking forward to releasing her solo album soon.
Commercial recognition
In the age of marketing and image making, Radhika has come to the conclusion that "no matter how much you sing, commercial recognition is very important."
She recounts an incident recently when she recorded a duet with Palash Sen for an upcoming film. In a feature in a leading newspaper the next day, she found the entire team of producer, director, music director, script writer, and of course Palash Sen mentioned as a Delhi team working on the film, but no sign of her own name.
"That hurts," admits Radhika, yet in the same breath adds, "I'm a pretty contented person.
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