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Treading on a successful track

Photo: Special arrangement

Occupied Man with a silken voice

Everything about Unnikrishnan is superlative. From an incredibly late musical kick off to a superfast evolution as a top singer from the South, he touches the extreme. But extremes are nothing new to the singer. He was all over for more than a decade with his albums from bagful of movies unfailingly hitting the box office.

Such has been his domination that one feels strange not to see much of his name in recent musical scores. “I’m not out from playback singing but just being choosy. There are many good singers turning up nowadays. It’s always good to hear a variety of voices,” he contemplates.

That’s the thing about singers who hold the charm for amazingly long period: they fear boredom. It’s not just about the listeners’ monotony that stops him signing all the songs that come by. The tedium has slowed down Unnikrishnan too.

“Even Carnatic music, for that matter... One reaches a threshold point beyond which you begin to look at other genres. Singers always need to fight their way out of the monotony and find new methods to liven up their careers.” And the new path, for him, is fusing music that he loves.

He still sings Carnatic at fusion concerts but slots them in different genres whenever possible. Unifying the distinctiveness of each kind of music, he belts out South Indian music, trading phrases with Western and Hindustani compositions.

Something on similar lines was his recent jazz-carnatic fusion concert in Chennai. “A leading quartet from US performed on piano, double base, saxophone and drums. For my Carnatic singing, we had piano and ganjeera. They picked up our scales really well and the concert had spontaneity, which decides the success.”

The fusion, however, demands a bit of knowledge in all kinds of music. And that’s precisely what Unnikrishnan has. “I grew up listening to a lot of Western, Hindustani and film music. It helps me slide from note to note even in non-Carnatic scales without a conscious effort.”

But after few seconds of quiet reflection, the Carnatic streak in him takes over. “For any musician, reproducing the ‘bhava’ of Carnatic music is a major challenge. The scales make the East and West meet. But the essence of our music remains inimitable.”

His concerts give a rare musical indulgence of the bygone era for the Carnatic connoisseurs. But the lay rasikas are sometimes seemingly left behind. “One doesn’t need to understand music. My audience appreciates the feel of music and that’s what matters.” First two hours of his concerts are pure classical and the rest depends on the popular demand of the audience.

Unnikrishnan does not agree with the perception that concerts were getting diluted to suit the masses, with television unstitching the Carnatic nuances through a host of musical shows. “The spirit of music cannot be thinned to attract masses. Carnatic is a divine art. If someone needs to understand, he must seek it. Music cannot be simplified to make them understand the beauty of it. There is absolutely no compromise on quality at any concert.”

However, the time spent at each concert has shrunk. “One can’t help it. The frame of rasikas is expanding and so is the number of concerts. Every singer needs to do some balancing art and time is the casualty.”

He is guarded about opening up on Carnatic reviews that grab exclusive spaces in newspapers and on the net. In a diplomatic tone, he says singers are all for constructive criticism. A brief pause follows his remarks, as he frames his words with prudence: “Criticism makes or breaks a career of a singer. Passing negative judgement on one’s performance bogs down the artist. That is unfair. Every one has his or her share of good and bad days.”

In an afterthought, the former top order batsman and wicketkeeper in Tamil Nadu Senior Division League decides to elucidate in his language. “Singers are like batsmen. They get just one chance at a time. You can’t decide based on their single performance. Like pitch, bowlers and the co-batsman, singers too have to depend on accompanists, sound systems and audience.”

But Unnikrishnan is optimistic. “Music grows only when good singers are encouraged. And I hope critics support us to churn out some quality music.”

If Carnatic made him busier during Chennai music festivals, films gave him a pan-India address. National award for his career-making hit ‘Ennavale’ from ‘Kadhalan’ hogged all the limelight, while ‘Uyirium Neeye’ from ‘Pavithra,’ which shared the award, hardly got registered in the minds of people.

“Success of a song depends on the movie. It was a beautiful composition with poignant lyrics. I did my job with perfection. Result is not in my hands,” he says.

The memory of his first music practice sessions is sharp. Not surprising, since he began serious singing only at 19. Among his scores of hits, ‘Narumugaye’ remains close to his heart. And not without a reason. “I had to sing it twice. First time when I recorded, I was asked to make it sound light. But ‘Bombay’ Jayashree, my co-singer, added frills to the song. So I had to come back and slot in gamakas. I don’t mind doing that extra bit of effort as I care about the outcome.”

Now Unnikrishnan has few more things to care about. He plans to start a music school at Chennai shortly. “Nothing is cut and dried. Plans are still plans. I’d be glad if I could add a tiny contribution for enriching Carnatic music.”

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