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Kerala's musical son-in-law
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SARASWATHI NAGARAJAN met up with noted playback singer, Suresh Wadkar, on a recent visit to Kerala.
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FOR SOMEONE who has been in the music industry for about two decades, Suresh Wadkar, noted playback singer, is surprisingly free of airs and artistic temperament.
On a recent visit,
with his wife Padma to participate in the `Gandharva Sandhya 2003', said Wadkar, "I consider it a great honour to participate in a music programme in the name of Jesudas. I not only admire him, but also sing many of his songs in concerts. His mastery over notes is amazing and many of us call him Pandit Jesudas."
And, perhaps, to punctuate this, he breaks into Jesudas' popular number, Gori teri gaon bada pyara... from the film, `Chitchor'.
A simple and soft-spoken, Wadkar prefers his songs and music to do the talking for him and feels more at home in the world of notes, chords and rhythm. This is evident when he says, "My wifewas my student and is 18 years my junior. However, all these divides were bridged by our deep interest in music. I often say that I am a son-in-law of Kerala, for my wife Padma is a Malayali from Ernakulam. She is the niece of the playback singer, Jayachandran. We sing duets at concerts."
Without much ado, Padma accompanies him to hum the lines of the hit song, Megha re mehga re.
He says, "Though the music industry has prospered, I feel nostalgic about the golden numbers of the Fifties and Sixties. In Kerala, melody still reigns supreme but you cannot say the same for all the new songs."
He believes that, contrary to what is being widely put out, most music lovers still go for melody and lyrics. "Take remixes, for instance. The belief is that youngsters prefer this. But watch any music programme and you will see youngsters singing only melodious evergreen numbers," he points out.
He says, "It was sheer coincidence that brought me into this field. I had bagged the first prize in an all-India music competition conducted by a cultural organisation in Mumbai. The composer, Jaidev, who was one of the judges, declared that I would be singing in his next movie. However, I first sang for Rajsri productions under Ravindra Jain. It was a duet sona tere jhilmiljhilmil. His next number Seene mein jalen made his critics sit up and take note of this singer with a sonorous voice.
However, that did not take Suresh Wadkar to stardom. It has been a long and steady climb for this talented singer who attributes his achievements to God.
"I believe music is a gift of God. A singer must have humility and devotion," he avers.
"I consider Lata didi as Ma Saraswati,'' he says. "I had always wanted to sing for her and one day I did get the opportunity. Lata didi enjoyed it so much that she immediately called up some music directors and told them to give me a chance," he adds.
His perseverance and hard work paid off. His songs for films such as `Utsav', `Sadma', `Pardesi', and `Parinda' firmly established him as one of the best in Bollywood.
For Suresh Wadkar, a life long student of music and rasik, it is music that sustains him.
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