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He proved papa wrong!
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A decade after `Papa Kehte Hain', Udit Narayan still remains the voice of top film stars, says ANUJ KUMAR
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UNIQUE VOICE: Udit Narayan, a sought-after playback singer Photo: RAJEEV BHATT
The simplicity of Udit Narayan's demeanour reflects in his singing. Having completed 25 years in the field of playback singing, the six-time Filmfare and two-time National Award winner says that the journey has been difficult but he has enjoyed it thoroughly. "I come from a small village on the Bihar-Nepal border. I developed a liking for music watching baraats (marriage processions). My farmer father wanted me to become a doctor or an engineer. He would say `kya nautanki karte ho' when I used to sing in Ramlila."
Udit, who is promoting his first film as a producer, Kab Hoi Gauna Hamar, says he doesn't have a problem with pronunciation like most people from Bihar do because he is from the border area and his mother tongue is Maithili. After completing Intermediate from Nepal, he got a job in the Kathmandu Radio Station. He says things started changing in 1978 when he got a scholarship to learn classical music at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Mumbai.
"I got my first opportunity in 1980 when I sang under Rajesh Roshan in Unees Bees. However, it took eight years to register my presence in the public mind." He is referring to Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and the song is obviously "Papa Kehte Hain."
The lyrics were again a welcome coincidence. The film, in fact, launched the career of Aamir Khan, Mansoor Khan and Anand Milind. Alka Yagnik, who could not make an impact after "Mere Angne Main" also found a lifeline courtesy QSQT.
The voice
However, with Aamir Khan in the film, doesn't this underscore the point that you have to be the voice of a successful actor in a successful film to survive in Bollywood? "This has been a limitation with playback singers and it will remain so. In a private album you can try your own thing but not in films. Here the challenge lies in first matching your voice with a particular star and then moulding it to suit others. As soon as you hear "Mere Sapnon Ki Rani", you think of Rajesh Khanna and with "Kabhi Kabhi", Amitabh Bachchan comes to mind. This was the magic of one voice, Kishore Kumar's," feels Udit.
Udit, who considers Mohammed Rafi his ideal, says he also faced a similar challenge when the media dubbed him as the screen voice of Aamir after the success of QSQT and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. He worked on his voice to suit Shah Rukh Khan and rendered hit songs such as "Mehendi Laga Ke Rakhna", "Ae Ajnabi" and recently "Janam Dekh Lo".
"Not only Shah Rukh, I have also sung hit numbers for Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar and young Shahid Kapur," he says with a smile. "This is the reason for my longevity in the industry. I have sung in 26 languages. Music directors from the South wait for dates to record their songs," adds Udit with a tinge of pride.
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