Showing posts with label Vocalists. Show all posts
Suresh Wadkar
SURESH ISHWAR WADKAR (born 7 August 1954) is an
Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films.He
has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films and in Konkani.
Back in 1968, when Suresh Wadkar was barely 13, Acharya
Jialal Vasant entrusted him with a student to initiate in Tory to teach
before you appear for your graduation in music through Prayag Sangit Samiti,
because there “Prabhakar” certificate is equivalent to B. Ed. and it authorizes
you to teach professionally. Guruji made every child studying for Senior
Diploma, to sit in the class of 1st year with an experienced teacher and learn
the process of “teaching”. Suresh successfully completed his “Prabhakar” and
joined “Arya Vidya Mandir, Mumbai as a music teacher. A lot of famous “stars”
of today had the opportunity to learn from him.
Acharya Jialal Vasant, announced during his felicitation function
organized by his students on May 1985. He said, “We continuously talk about the
benefits one enjoys when one is blessed with a good Guru. But let me tell you,
that every Guru looks for at least one student, who can take his torch forward.
I have been, I must say, very fortunate to get ‘the’ student; I have always
looked for in Suresh. I am fully confident that he will leave no stone unturned
to accomplish what I desire the most – to attain excellence both as a singer
& a teacher. I feel that my mission is fulfilled.”
He has a music school in Mumbai, India (www.ajivasan.com) and New
Jersey/New York, USA (www.sureshwadkarmusic.com) where methodical training is
given to students.
Suresh Wadkar added a new chapter in his Music life when he
started the First Online Music teaching school "SWAMA" (Suresh Wadkar
Ajivasan Music Academy) under Ace Open University.
Though groomed for Indian classical music, he entered the
Sur-Singar competition in 1976. Wadkar won the competition which was judged by
composers from the Indian film industry includingJaidev. Jaidev later offered
him the song "Seene Mein Jalan" in the film Gaman (released
in 1978). He also performed in the film Paheli (released
1977).
At the time, Lata Mangeshkar was so impressed with his
voice that she strongly recommended him to film personalities including Laxmikant-Pyarelal,
Khayyam and Kalyanji-Anandji. Laxmikant-Pyarelal,
impressed with his voice, soon recorded a duet with Lata "Chal Chameli
Bagh Mein" for Krodhi (released in 1981). Soon after, he
was given the opportunity to perform for songs in Hum Paanch, Pyaasa
Sawan ("Megha re Megha Re") and above all, his turning point
in films - Raj Kapoor's Prem Rog (released in 1982).after
that Wadkar Sang many songs under R.K. Banner and he offenly gave his voice for
Rishi Kapoor for Heena, Prem granth, and Rajeev Kapoor for Ram teri Ganga Maili
he used to sing specialy for Rishi kapoor in Numerous film Bol Radha Bol,
Vijay, and other song
Wadkar also produced the film Tanman.com. He was a judge on the
Indian TV singing show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs International and
at the 2005 Sanjeet Awards.
Suresh Wadkar has for the first time sung a song in the upcoming
Tamil film Kanden Kadhalai. This film is an adaptation of the Hindi
Blockbuster Jab We Met. The song is a ghazal type song called
"Naan Mozhi Arindhaen".
He has sung numerous devotional songs in various languages.
In 1996, Wadkar sang Channeache Rati among several other
songs in Rajendra Talak's Konkani album Daryachya Deger with Asha
Bhosle.
Wadkar is married to classical singer Padma. He has
two daughters, Ananya and Gia.
Vijaylakshmy Subramaniam (Carnatic Vocal)
VIJAYALAKSHMY SUBRAMANIAM is
an eminent Carnatic music vocalist. As a student and performer of
classical music for over three decades, she has performed extensively in India
and abroad since the age of twelve. She has conducted numerous workshops and
lecture demonstrations on the various aspects of Carnatic Music. She has
presented papers at international conferences in many countries over the last
decade. She is a serious researcher of music. In June 2007, she brought out a
book “Apoorva Kriti Manjari” – a collection of twenty rare compositions of
the Trinity of Carnatic Music. The book has notations in English and Tamil
by noted musicologist S. Balachander and the audio has been rendered by
Vijayalakshmy. A doctorate in music, Vijayalakshmy was awarded the prestigious
Fulbright Visiting Lecturer Fellowship in 2010. As part of the programme, she
taught the subject ‘An Introduction to Indian Music’ at the Duke University,
North Carolina, USA, as a visiting Fulbright fellow (Aug – Nov 2010).
Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam started her training in Carnatic
Music at the age of five under K. Padmanabhan, a disciple of Harikesanallur
Muthiah Bhagavathar from the Swati Tirunal Academy,Trivandrum.
She learnt detailed aspects of manodharma sangita or
improvisation under the guidance of guru Sangeeta Bhushanam K Krishnaswamy
of Annamalai University. Her gurus also include Vidwans S.Rajam, T. R.
Subramaniam and V. R. Krishnan.
Tag :
Vocalists
Vani Sateesh (Carnatic Vocal)
VANI SATEESH is a Carnatic vocalist.
Vani Sateesh was
born in Bangalore, Karnataka. She hails from a family of Carnatic
musicians going back many generations. Her Great Grandfather Mundarigi
Narasimhachar 1855-1940 (belonged to Haridasa Parampara of Vijaya
Dasaru, a prominent Haridasa of Karnataka. Her Grand Father Mundarigi
Raghavendrachar (1896-1944) was a musician well versed in many disciplines of
music and was a professor of music at Queen Mary college in Chennai (contemporary
of Prof P. Sambamurthy). Her father, Sangeetha Kala Ratna (awarded by Bangalore
Gayana Samaja) Bellary. M. Venkateshachar is a carnatic classical vocalist and
her uncle Bellary M Sheshagiri Achar was a Vaggeyakara (composer of
lyrics and music). Her uncle and father were known as 'Bellary Brothers' and
performed in most parts in India during 1950's and 1960s. The recent lineage of
five generations popularly known as 'Vishesha Parampara' spans over 130 years. Every
generation has been actively involved in teaching, performing, composing and
spreading fine arts knowledge in many remote parts of Karnataka. Thousands of
students have come in contact with this family and many of them have put
themselves into fine arts service in their own way. It is impossible to fathom
and estimate the impact created by this family over the last century in
promoting carnatic music.
Vani Sateesh
initial training was under the tutelage of her uncle Bellary M. Sheshagiri
Achar. She later learnt from her father Sangeetha Ratna (conferred by Bangalore
Gayana Samaja) Bellary M. Venkateshachar and then from her brother Bellary
M Raghavendra. She is currently under the tutelage of Padmabhushana Sri
P.S.Narayanaswamy, direct disciple of Sangeetha KalanidhiSemmangudi
Srinivasa Iyer.
Vani started
performing at a young age. Her first concert was at the age of 10; since then
she has gone on to give numerous concerts in reputed Sabhas both in India and
abroad. As a performer, she concentrates on all aspects of performances
including intonations, stage presence, building rapport with accompanying
artists, connecting with audiences etc. In her earlier days, she gave numerous
tala vadya concerts. She has also performed many jugalbandi with
known Hindustani Classical musicians. Vani Sateesh is an
"A" grade artist of All India Radio and a "B
High" Graded Composer of All India Radio. She has completed her
Master in Music from University of Mysore and also has received Indian
Government Scholarship for Young Artists.
Tag :
Vocalists
Shubha Mudgal
SHUBHA MUDGAL (born
1959) is a well-known Indian singer of Hindustani classical
music, Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, and popular Indian Pop music.
She has been awarded the 1996 National Film Award for Best
Non-Feature Film Music Direction for 'Amrit Beej', the 1998 Gold
Plaque Award for Special Achievement in Music, at the 34th Chicago
International Film Festival, for her music in the film Dance of the
Wind(1997), and the Padma Shri in 2000. She is also close to
movements like ANHAD and SAHMAT.
Born in an academic family to Skand and Jaya Gupta in Allahabad, Uttar
Pradesh. Both her parents were Professors of English Literature at Allahabad
University, with deep interest in Classical Hindustani Music and
Kathak. Her paternal grandfather, Prof. P. C. Gupta was also a Professor at Allahabad
University.
She attended St. Mary's Convent Inter College. As a
young girl she started learning Kathak in Allahabad following
the foot steps of her sister. She once replied to a dance examiner's routine
query of "Aap kis gharaane ki naachti hain? (What style/form do you
dance?)" with the retort, "Hum apne gharaane ki naachti hain (I dance
my own style)". She later switched to Hindustani Classical Music as
her vocation of choice while maintaining the same individualistic attitude. Her
first traditional teacher (guru) was Pandit Ramashreya Jha inAllahabad.
Shubha moved to New Delhi, and enrolled at the Delhi
University. She continued her musical education under Pandit Vinaya Chandra
Mudgalya at the urging of her first guru. After graduating from the University,
her training continued under Pandit Vasant Thakar in Delhi, and more
informally with other established singers as Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, Naina
Devi and Pt. Kumar Gandharva.
Shubha Mudgal started performing as a Hindustani classical singer
in the 1980s, and gained a certain reputation as a talented singer. In the
1990s, she started experimenting with other forms of music, including pop and
fusion varieties. She says, "I believe in music. Khayal and Thumri are my
favourites, but that does not mean that I should not experiment with other
forms. Why should I curtail my musical urges?" asks the singer and adds,
"I want to allow the artist in me to come through. If you are a musician,
how can you say, 'this one is from devotional poetry, so I am not going to sing
it. In addition to her recordings and concerts, she briefly runs a website
called raagsangeet.com aimed at lovers of Classical Indian Music.
Mudgal sang the title track of Star Plus's No.1 serial Diya
Aur Baati Hum along with Kailash Kher. It is a very
soulful, classical-based Rajasthani folk song.
After graduating from University, Shubha married Pt. Mudgalya's
son Mukul Mudgal who was a promising lawyer. Shubha Mudgal however got divorced
from him, and married Aneesh Pradhan. Her only son from her previous marriage,
Dhaval, is a member of a Delhi-based band and a promising poker player.
Mohammad Rafi
MOHAMMAD RAFI (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980)
was an Indian recording artist who is considered by many to be one of the
greatest Indianplayback singers of the Hindi film industry. In his
lifetime, he was awarded the National Film Award, Best National Singer
Award and six Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma
Shri award by the Government of India. His singing career
spanned about 35 years. Rafi is noted for his ability to sing songs of
different moods and varieties: They ranged from classical numbers to
patriotic songs, sad lamentations to highly romantic numbers, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans.
He is best known for romantic and duet songs and, as a playback
singer, his ability to mould his voice to the persona of the actor lip-synching
the song.
Rafi is primarily noted for his songs in Hindustani, over
which he had a strong command. He sang in other Indian languagesincluding Assamese,Konkani, Bhojpuri, Oriya, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Sindhi, Kannada, Gujarati, Telugu,
Maghi, Maithili and Urdu. He also recorded a few songs inEnglish, Persian, Spanish and Dutch.
From available figures, Rafi sang 4,516 Hindi film songs, 112 non-Hindi film
songs, and 328 private (non-film) songs from 1945 to 1980.
Mohammed
Rafi was the youngest of six brothers. His father was Hajji Ali Mohammad. The
family lived in Kotla Sultan Singh, a village near present-day Amritsar in Punjab,
India. Rafi, whose nickname was Pheeko, began singing by imitating the
chants of a fakir in his village. Rafi's father moved to Lahore in
the 1920s where he ran a men's salon in Noor Mohalla in Bhatti Gate. His elder
brother, Mohammad Deen, had a friend, Abdul Hameed, (future brother-in-law),
who spotted the talent in Rafi in Lahore and encouraged him to sing. Abdul
Hameed later convinced the family elders to let Rafi move to Mumbai; he
accompanied him in 1944.
Rafi
learnt classical music from Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad
Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jiwan Lal Mattoo and Firoze Nizami. His first
public performance came at the age of 13, when he sang in Lahore
featuring K. L. Saigal. In 1941, Rafi, under Shyam
Sunder, made his debut in Lahore as a playback singer in the duet "Soniye
Nee, Heeriye Nee" with Zeenat Begum in thePunjabi film Gul
Baloch (released in 1944). In that same year, Rafi was invited
by All India Radio Lahore station to sing for them.
He made his professional debut in the Shyam Sunder-directed 1941
Punjabi film Gul Baloch and the earliest debut in a Hindi
film was Gaon Ki Gori in 1945.
On Thursday, 31 July 1980, Rafi died at 10:50 p.m., following
a heart attack. His last song was "Shaam phir kyun udaas hai
dost" (Aas Paas), which he had recorded with Laxmikant-Pyarelalfew
hours before his death.
Rafi was buried at the Juhu Muslim cemetery. It was
one of the biggest funeral processions Mumbai had ever witnessed, with over
10,000 people attending.
In 2010, his tomb was demolished to make space for new burials.
Fans of Mohammed Rafi who visit his tomb twice a year to mark his birth and
death anniversary use the coconut tree nearest to his grave as a marker.
Ustad Amir Khan
USTAD AMIR KHAN (August
15, 1912 – February 13, 1974) was a well-known Indian classical vocalist.
He is considered one of the most influential figures in Hindustani
classical music, and the founder of the Indore Gharana.
Amir Khan was born in a family of musicians in Indore, India. His
father, Shahmir Khan, a sarangi and veena player of
the Bhendibazaar gharana, served at the court of the Holkars of
Indore. His grandfather, Change Khan, was a singer in the court of Bahadurshah
Zafar. Amir Ali's mother died when he was nine years old. He had a younger
brother, Bashir, who became a sarangi player at the Indore station of All
India Radio.
He was initially trained in the sarangi by his father. However,
seeing his interest in vocal music, his father gradually devoted more time to
vocal training, focusing on the Merukhand technique. Amir Ali was
exposed at an early age to many different styles, since just about every
musician who visited Indore would come to their house, and there would be mehfils at
their place on a regular basis. Also, he learnt the basics of tabla playing
from one of his maternal uncles, who was a tabla player.
Amir Khan moved to Bombay in 1934, and there he gave a
few concerts and cut about half a dozen 78-rpm records. These initial
performances were not well received. Following his father's advice, in 1936 he
joined the services of Maharaj Chakradhar Singh of Raigadh Sansthan in Madhya
Pradesh, but he stayed only about a year. Amir Khan's father died in 1937.
Later, Khansahib lived for some time in Delhi and Calcutta, but
after the partition of India he moved back to Bombay.
Amir
Khan's first marriage was to Zeenat, sister of the sitar player, Ustad
Vilayat Khan. From this marriage, which eventually failed and ended in
separation, he had a daughter, Farida. His second marriage was to Munni Bai,
who gave birth to a son, Ekram Ahmed. Around 1965, Khansaheb married Raisa
Begum, daughter of the thumri singer, Mushtari Begum of
Agra. He had expected that Munni Begum would accept the third wife; however,
Munni disappeared and it is rumored that she committed suicide. With
Raisa he had a son, Haider Amir, later called Shahbaz Khan.
Khansahib died a premature death in a car accident in Calcutta,
and was buried at Calcutta's Gobra cemetery.
Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar
PANDIT
SANJEEV ABHYANKAR was
born on October 15, 1969 in Pune, India to Dr. Shobha Abyankar. Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar, the maestro from the
Mewati Gharana, is an artist of international acclaim in the field of
Hindustani Classical and Devotional Music. An extremely popular artist, he is
the inspiration for the young generation. With his magical singing, he has
attracted the young generation towards the Indian Classical music. In a career
spanning more than 25 years, he has assumed the mantle of a role model of
dedication, hard work, patience and perseverance.
He started
learning Hindustani Classical Music, at the age of eight, groomed by his
mother, and her guru Pandit Pimpalkhare and later from Padma
Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj. Though his aim had been to pursue a career
in music since childhood, he has acquired a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce.
Sanjeev
Abhyankar rendered his first stage performance in Mumbai, at the age of 13
in 1983. Since then, he has traveled extensively all over the country,
performing in conferences and art circles around the world, spreading the
fragrance of Indian Classical music to the United States of America, Canada, Australia, Europe, Africa and
the Middle East.
He has several
albums with HMV, Music Today, Sony Music, Times Music, Navaras
Records U.K., Neelam Audio Video U.S.A., Sona Rupa U.K., BMG Cressendo, Ninaad
Music, Fountain Music & Alurkar Music. He has also given playback for films
such as Maachis, Nidaan, Sanshodhan, Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar and Banaras.
Besides
performing in art circles throughout India, he has performed in commercial
conferences such as Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Samaroh, Pune;Baba Harvallabh
Samaroh, Jalandhar; ITC SRA Sangeet Sammelan and Doverlen Conference,
Calcutta; Vishnu Digambar Paluskar Jayanti Samaroh, Mumbai; International
Melody Foundation's Ustad Amir Khan Samaroh and Gunidas Festival, New Delhi;
Swami Haridas Sammelan, Vrindavan; Pandit Motiram Sangeet Samaroh, Hyderabad; Ustad
Allauddin Khan Samaroh and Ustad Amir Khan Samaroh, Madhya Pradesh; Saptak
Conference, Ahmedabad; Master Dinanath Sangeet Mahotsav, Goa; Hindustani
Kalakar Mandali Conference, Bangalore; and the Kalidas Samaroh, Nagpur.
Tag :
Vocalists
Shreya Ghoshal
SHREYA GHOSHAL (born March 12, 1984) is an Indian singer.
Best known as a playback singer in Hindi films, she also sings in
other Indian languages including Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Malayalam,Tamil and Telugu.
Ghoshal's career began when she won the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contest
as an adult. Her Bollywood playback singing career began with Devdas,
for which she received National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer along
with Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer and Filmfare
RD Burman Award for New Music Talent. Since then, she has received many
other awards. Ghoshal was also honored from the U.S. state of Ohio,
wherein governor Ted Strickland declared June 26 as "Shreya
Ghoshal Day". She was also featured in the Forbes’ Top 100
celebrities of India. In 2013, Ghoshal became the third Indian to have
over 10 million likes in the social networking site Facebook after A.
R. Rahman and Sachin Tendulkar, and thereby, the first Indian woman
too in this regard.
Shreya Ghoshal was born on March 12, 1984, to a Bengali Hindu family
in Baharampur, West Bengal. Thereafter, she spent the next three
months in her birthplace in West Bengal. She grew up in Rawatbhata, a
small town near Kota, Rajasthan, where her father was transferred.
Her father, Mr Bishwajit Ghoshal is a nuclear power plantengineer and
works for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, and her mother, Mrs
Sarmistha Ghoshal is a literature post-graduate.[6] She lived there for
thirteen years and completed her schooling up to Eighth Standard at Rawatbhata
at the Atomic Energy Central School.
In 1997, when her father was transferred to Mumbai, Ghoshal
had to shift to Mumbai with her family. In Mumbai, she studied at Atomic
Energy Central School inAnushaktinagar. She joined the Atomic Energy
Junior College for studying Science. However, she felt difficulty in
studying Science as her musical career in Bollywood had already began
by the time. So, she dropped out from there and enrolled at SIES College
at Sion in Mumbai for graduation, where she took up Arts with English as
Major.
Rawatbhata was a primeval town, unpolluted and away from
urban influence. In Rawatbhata, Ghoshal experienced the existence of several
cultural programmes and social assemblages, which facilitated her in starting a
musical world of her own. A cultural inclination of her parents and the luck of
having a mother as a singer accelerated her musical journey. The involvement of
her parents in such functions brought her opportunities to sing as a small
child, thereby, introducing her the first lessons in the field of music. Her
mother sang during rehearsals and she used to repeat by buzzing the same songs
with infantile pronunciation. During those days, her parents detected her love
towards singing.
Ghoshal's mother turned out to be her first teacher, when at the
age of four, she accompanied her on the harmonium and started practicing songs,
chiefly Bengali songs. Her first stage performance was made at their
club's annual function. When she turned six, she started her lessons in Hindustani
classical music. She got training in Hindustani classical music by Rakesh
Sharma of Kota, Shri Jayawardhan Bhatnagar, the music teacher of her
school, and finally from Mahesh Chandra Sharma of Kota. Her introduction
to Hindi film songs and Rajasthani folk was made by Shri
Jayawardhan Bhatnagar.
In 1995, Shreya became the winner of the All India Light Vocal
Music Competition, New Delhi, which was organised by the Sangam Kala
Group, in the Light Vocal group at a sub-junior level. Ghoshal was judged
by Kalyanji-Anandji and Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra at
various times of her life. Ghoshal made her first on-screen appearance with a
show, named "Awaz Nayi Andaz Wohi" which was aired on the
channel EL TV, where she got Kalyanji-Anandji and Pandit Rajan and Sajan
Mishra as her judges. She made her first studio recording with this
show in 1996. As a child, she won the 75th Children's Special episode of the Sa
Re Ga Ma (now Sa Re Ga Ma Pa) contest on Zee TV. Further on, she
again obtained triumph at miscellaneous episodes of Sa Re Ga Ma. Shreya's last
connection with Sa Re Ga Ma was the Mega-final judged by diverse judges,
viz, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Ram Narayan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Girija
Devi, Anil Biswas and Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Late Padma
Shri Kalyanji, who also judged the competition, convinced her parents to
move to Mumbai. She was trained in playback singing by Kalyanji for
18 months and she continued her classical music training with Late Mukta
Bhide in Mumbai.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
RAHAT FATEH ALI KHAN (born
1974) is a Pakistani singer,
primarily of Qawwali, a devotional music of the Muslim Sufis.
He is the nephew of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and son of Ustad Farrukh
Fateh Ali Khan and also the grandson of legendary Qawwali singer Fateh
Ali Khan. In addition to Qawwali, he also performs ghazals and
other light music. He is popular as a Bollywood and Lollywood playback
singer.
Rahat was born into a Punjabi family of Qawwals
in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan into a family of traditional
musicians. The son of Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, he was trained by his
uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in the art of classical music and Qawwali.
Rahat was chosen by his uncle Ustad Nusrat Fateh
Ali Khan for tutoring in the traditions of Qawwali music and was
preciously singing with his uncle and father by the age of three. At the
age of seven he began formal training with his uncle & he performed first
time in public at the age of nine at the death anniversary of his grandfather.
From age fifteen, he was made an integral part of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's qawwali group
which was famous throughout the world. He toured the U.K. with his
uncle in 1985, and performed solo songs in addition to singing with the Qawwali group.At
a concert in Birmingham on July 27, 1985, he performed the solo ghazal, Mukh
Tera Sohneya Sharab Nalon Changa Ae. At a concert at the Harrow Leisure
Centre in 1985, he performed the solo song, Gin Gin Taare Lang Gaiyaan
Rattaan. He sang lollywood playback in the 90s and debuted as a playback
singer in Bollywood with the movie Paap (2004), featuring
the hit song, Mann Ki Lagan. His recent works include Pakistani
nationalistic songs such as Dharti Dharti and Hum
Pakistan, and songs from Bollywood films. He has toured extensively and
performed in Pakistan, India, United Kingdom and all around the world. In April
2012 Rahat toured in the UK, performing at Wembley Arena and
the Manchester Arena, playing to a combined audience of over 20,000
people.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is married to the daughter of Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan. They have two daughters, Maheen Khan (eldest) and Filza
Khan(youngest), and a son, Shazmaan Khan (born 2007).
Kishore Kumar
KISHORE KUMAR born
as ABHAS KUMAR GANGULY, (4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987), was a
popular Indian film playback singer. He is also known as an actor,
lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenplay writer and scriptwriter.
Kishore Kumar sang in many Indian languages including Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Malayalam, Oriya,
and Urdu. He won 8 Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer and
holds the record for most number of Filmfare Awardswon in that category.
He was awarded the "Lata Mangeshkar Award" by the Madhya Pradesh government
and from that year onwards, the Madhya Pradesh Government initiated a new award
called the "Kishore Kumar Award" for contributions to Hindi
cinema.
Kishore Kumar was born into the Bengali Ganguly family in Khandwa, Central
Provinces and Berar (now in Madhya Pradesh) as Abhas Kumar
Ganguly. His father Kunjalal Ganguly (Gangopadhyay) was a lawyer. His
mother Gouri Devi came from a wealthy Bengali family. Kishore was the youngest
of four siblings, the other three being Ashok Kumar (the eldest),
Sati Devi, and Anoop Kumar.
While Kishore was still a child, Ashok Kumar became a
Bollywood actor. (Later, Anoop Kumar also ventured into cinema with the help of
Ashok Kumar). Spending time with his brothers, Kishore also started to take a
keen interest in movies and music. He became a fan of singer-actor Kundan
Lal Saigal, whom he considered his guru, and tried to follow Saigal's singing
style.
After Ashok Kumar became a big star in Hindi films,
the Ganguly family used to visit Mumbai regularly. Abhas
Kumar changed his name to Kishore Kumar and started his cinema career as a
chorus singer at Bombay Talkies, where his brother worked. Kishore Kumar's
first film as an actor was Shikari (1946), in which Ashok
Kumar played the lead role. Music director Khemchand Prakash gave Kishore
Kumar a chance to sing "Marne ki duayen kyon mangu" for the
film Ziddi (1948). After this, Kishore Kumar got many other
assignments, but he was not very serious about a film career. In 1949, he
decided to settle in Mumbai.
Kishore Kumar played hero in the Bombay Talkies film Andolan (1951),
directed by Phani Majumdar. Although Kishore Kumar got some assignments as an
actor with the help of his brother, he was more interested in becoming a
singer. He was not interested in acting but his elder brother Ashok Kumar
wanted him to be an actor like him.
He starred in Bimal Roy's Naukri (1954)
and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's directorial debut Musafir (1957). Salil
Chowdhury, the music director for Naukri was initially
dismissive of him as a singer, when he came to know that Kishore Kumar didn't
have any formal training in music. However, after hearing his voice, he
gave him the song Chhota sa ghar hoga, which was supposed to be
sung by Hemant Kumar.
Kishore Kumar starred in films New Delhi (1957), Aasha (1957), Chalti
Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Half Ticket (1962), and Padosan (1968). Chalti
Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), his home production, starred the three Ganguly
brothers and Madhubala. The film is about romance between a city girl
(Madhubala) and a car mechanic (Kishore Kumar), with a subplot involving the
brothers.
Music director S. D. Burman is credited with spotting Kishore
Kumar's talent as a singer and advancing his singing career. During the making
of Mashaal (1950), Burman visited Ashok Kumar's house, where
he heard Kishore imitating K. L. Saigal. He complimented Kishore Kumar and
told him that he should develop a style of his own, instead of copying
Saigal. He kept Burman's advice in mind and eventually developed his own
style of singing, which featured the yodeling that he had heard on
the gramophone records of Tex Morton and Jimmie Rodgers bought
by his brother Anoop Kumar.
S. D. Burman recorded with Kishore for Dev Anand's Munimji (1954), Taxi
Driver (1954), House No. 44 (1955), Funtoosh (1956), Nau
Do Gyarah (1957), Paying Guest(1957), Guide (1965), Jewel
Thief (1967), Prem Pujari (1970), and Tere
Mere Sapne (1971). He also composed music for Kishore Kumar's home
production Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958). Some of their initial
films included the songs "Maana Janaab Ne Pukara Nahin" from Paying
Guest, "Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke" from Nau Do Gyarah (1957),
"Ai Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa" from Funtoosh, and "Ek
Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si" and "Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka"
from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958). Asha Bhosle and
Kishore Kumar performed duets composed by S. D. Burman including "Chhod Do
Aanchal" from Paying Guest (1957), "Ankhon Mein Kya
Ji" from Nau Do Gyarah (1957), "Haal Kaisa Hai
Janaab Ka" and "Paanch Rupaiya Baara Aana" from Chalti
Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) and "Arre Yaar Meri Tum Bhi Ho Gajab"
from Teen Deviyan (1965).
C. Ramchandra was another music director who recognized
Kishore Kumar's talent as a singer. Their collaborations include
"Eena Meena Deeka" from Aasha (1957). Kishore
Kumar's work includes "Nakhrewaali" from New Delhi (1956)
by Shankar Jaikishan, "C.A.T. Cat Maane Billi" and "Hum To
Mohabbat Karega" from Dilli Ka Thug (1958) by Ravi,
and "Chhedo Na Meri Zulfein" from Ganga Ki Lahren (1964)
by Chitragupta.
Kishore Kumar produced, directed, and acted in Jhumroo (1961).
He wrote the lyrics for the title song, "Main Hoon Jhumroo," and
composed music for all the songs in the film. Later, he produced and
directed Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein (1964). He wrote the script
and composed music for the film. It is based on the relationship between a
father (Kishore Kumar) and his deaf and mute son (played by his real-life son (Amit
Kumar). He made another two films called Door Ka Rahi (1971)
and Door Waadiyon Mein Kahin(1980).
In the 1960s, as an actor, Kishore Kumar built up a notoriety for
coming late for the shootings or bunking them altogether. His films
flopped frequently and he landed in income tax trouble. As a singer, his
work in this period includes "Zaroorat Hai Zaroorat Hai" from Manmauji (1961),
"Gaata Rahe Mera Dil" from Guide (1965), and
"Yeh Dil Na Hota Bechara" from Jewel Thief (1967).
In the late 1960s, Rahul Dev Burman worked together on
the soundtrack of the film Padosan (1968) in which Kishore
Kumar sang the songs "Mere Saamne Wali Khidki Mein" and "Kehna
Hai." Padosan was a comedy film starring Kishore Kumar as
a dramatist-musician, Mehmood as a Carnatic music and dance
teacher, and Sunil Dutt as a simpleton named Bhola. Kishore Kumar's
character in the film was inspired by the personality of his uncle, Dhananjay
Bannerjee (a classical singer). The highlight of the film was a musical,
comical duel between Kishore Kumar-Sunil Dutt and Mehmood: "Ek Chatur Nar
Karke Singaar."
In 1969, Shakti Samanta produced and directed the
film Aradhana, for which the music was composed by S.D. Burman. It
is said that after recording two songs for the film, the popular playback
singer Mohammed Rafi went to Hajj, where he heard that
professional singing is against Islam. Confused, he took a break from
singing and went to London to be with his son. Shakti Samanta suggested
that Kishore Kumar sing rest of the songs. When the film was released, the
songs "Mere Sapno Ki Rani" and "Roop Tera Mastana"
established Kishore Kumar as a leading playback singer in Bollywood. Kishore
Kumar won his first Filmfare award for the song "Roop Tera
Mastana".
Kishore Kumar married four times. His first wife was Bengali singer
and actress Ruma Guha Thakurta aka Ruma Ghosh. Their marriage lasted
from 1950 to 1958.
Kishore's second wife was actress Madhubala, who had worked
with him on many films including his home production Chalti Ka Naam
Gaadi (1958) and Jhumroo (1961). When Kishore Kumar proposed to her,
Madhubala was sick and was planning to go to London for treatment. At
this time, she didn't know that she had a ventricular septal defect (hole
in the heart), and her father wanted her to wait and consult the London doctors
first. Furthermore, at the time he was married to Ruma. After his divorce,
because Kishore Kumar was Bengali Hindu (Brahmin) and Madhubala Muslim,
they had a civil wedding ceremony in 1960. His parents refused to attend. The
couple also had a Hindu ceremony to please Kumar's parents, but Madhubala was
never truly accepted as his wife. Within a month of her wedding she moved back
to her bungalow in Bandra because of tension in the Kishore Kumar household.
They remained married but under great strain for the remainder of Madhubala's
life. The doctors in London told Madhubala that she would not live for long.
The marriage lasted for nine years, and ended with Madhubala's death on 23
February 1969.
Kishore Kumar's third marriage was to Yogeeta Bali, and
lasted from 1976 to 4 August 1978. Kishore was married to Leena
Chandavarkar from 1980 until his death. Kishore Kumar sired two
sons, Amit Kumar (playback singer) with Ruma, and Sumit Kumar with
Leena Chandavarkar.
Kumar is said to have been paranoid about not being
paid. During recordings, he would sing only after his secretary confirmed
that the producer had made the payment.Once, when he discovered that his dues
hadn't been fully paid, he landed up for shooting with make-up on only one side
of his face. When the director questioned him, he replied "Aadha paisa to
aadha make-up." (Half make-up for half payment).On the sets of Bhai
Bhai, Kishore Kumar refused to act because the director M V Raman owed him
five thousand rupees. Ashok Kumar persuaded him to do the scene. But, when the
shooting started, he walked across the floor and, each time he walked a few places,
he said, Paanch Hazzar Rupaiya (five thousand rupees) and did
a somersault. After he reached the end of the floor, he went out of the studio,
jumped into his car, and ordered his driver Abdul to drive away. On
another occasion, when producer R. C. Talwar did not pay his dues in spite of
repeated reminders, Kishore turned up at Talwar's residence one morning and
started shouting "Hey Talwar, de de mere aath hazaar"
("Hey Talwar, give me my eight thousand"). He did this every morning
until Talwar paid him.
The film Anand (1971) was originally supposed to
star Kishore Kumar and Mehmood Ali in the lead. Hrishikesh
Mukherjee, the director of the film, was asked to meet Kishore Kumar to discuss
the project. However, when he went to Kishore Kumar's house, he was driven away
by the gatekeeper due to a misunderstanding. Kishore Kumar (himself a Bengali)
hadn't been paid for a stage show organized by another Bengali man, and had
instructed his gatekeeper to drive away this "Bengali", if he ever
visited the house. When Hrishikesh Mukherjee (also a Bengali) went to
Kishore Kumar's house, the gatekeeper drove him away, mistaking him for the
"Bengali" that Kishore Kumar had asked him to drive away.
Consequently, Mehmood had to leave the film as well, and new actors (Rajesh
Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan) were signed up for the film.
In spite
of his "no money, no work" principle, sometimes Kishore Kumar
recorded for free even when the producers were willing to pay. Such films
include those produced byRajesh Khanna and Danny Denzongpa. On
one occasion, Kishore Kumar helped actor-turned-producer Bipin Gupta, by
giving him Rs.20,000 for the film Dal Mein Kala(1964). When actor
Arun Kumar Mukherjee died, Kishore Kumar regularly sent money to his family in
Bhagalpur. Mukherjee was one of the first persons to appreciate Kishore's
singing talent.
Many journalists and writers have written about Kishore Kumar's
seemingly eccentric behavior. Kishore Kumar had put a "Beware of
Kishore" sign at the door of his Warden Road flat, where he stayed for
some time while his bungalow was being done up. Once,
producer-director H. S. Rawail, who owed him some money, visited his flat to
pay the dues. Kishore Kumar took the money, and when Rawail offered to shake
hands with him, he reportedly put Rawail's hand in his mouth, bit it, and asked
"Didn’t you see the sign?". Rawail laughed off the incident and left quickly. Kishore
Kumar was a loner, and in an interview with Pritish Nandy (1985), he
said that he had no friends – he preferred talking to his trees
instead. Once, when a reporter made a comment about how lonely he must be,
Kishore Kumar took her to his garden. He then named some of the trees in his
garden, and introduced them to the reporter as his closest friends.
According to another reported incident, once Kishore Kumar was to
record a song for producer-director G. P. Sippy. As Sippy approached his
bungalow, he saw Kishore going out in his car. Sippy pleaded him to stop his
car, but Kishore only increased the speed of his car. Sippy chased him to Madh
Island, where Kishore Kumar finally stopped his car near the ruined Madh
Fort. When Sippy questioned his strange behavior, Kishore Kumar refused to
recognize or talk to him and threatened to call police. Sippy had to return.
Next morning, Kishore Kumar reported for the recording. An angry Sippy
questioned him about his behavior on the previous day. However, Kishore Kumar
insisted that Sippy must have seen a dream, and claimed that he was in Khandwa
on the previous day.
Once, a producer went to court to get a decree that Kishore Kumar
must follow the director's orders. As a consequence, Kishore Kumar obeyed the
director to the letter. He refused to alight from his car until the director
ordered him to do so. Once, after a car scene in Mumbai, he drove on
till Khandala because the director forgot to say "Cut".In
the 1960s, a financier named Kalidas Batvabbal, patently disgusted with Kishore
Kumar's alleged lack of cooperation during the shooting of Half Ticket,
gave him away to the income tax authorities. Kishore had to face a raid at his
house. Later, Kishore invited Batvabbal home, tricked him by asking him to
enter a cupboard for a "chat" and locked him inside. He unlocked
Batvabbal after two hours and told him "Don’t ever come to my house
again."
Pandit Jasraj
PANDIT JASRAJ ( born
28 January 1930) is an Indian classical vocalist. He belongs to
the Mewati gharana ofHindustani classical music.
Jasraj was born in Hisar, Mewat region, Haryana in
an orthodox Brahmin family to Motiram, a classical singer. His
family performed the Mewati gharana style. Motiram died when Jasraj
was four, on the day he was to be appointed as the state musician in the court
of Osman Ali Khan.
Jasraj was initiated into vocal music by his father. He received
training from his elder brother, Maniram, and later from Maharaja Jaywant Singh
Waghela and Ustad Gulam Kadar Khan of Mewat Gharana. In addition, he trained
under Swami Vallabhdas of the Agra Gharana. In 1960, when Jasraj went to visit Bade
Ghulam Ali Khan in hospital, Khan asked him to become his disciple, but
Jasraj declined saying that he could not accept Khan's tutelage since he was
already Maniram's disciple.
As a means of livelihood, Maniram took Jasraj as an
accompanying tabla player. However, at the time, like sarangi players,
tabla players were considered minor artists. At the age of 14, unhappy with his
treatment as an accompanying artist, Jasraj left and vowed not to cut his hair
until he learned to sing. He finally cut his hair after garnering his first AIR
Radio performance, where he sang Raga Kaunsi Kanada (a combination
of Malkauns and Darbari Kanada).
Jasraj's vocal range extends three-and-a-half octaves and
uses precise diction, a trademark of the Mewati gharana's style
of khayal. He has also done extensive research in Haveli Sangeet under
Baba Shyam Manohar Goswami Maharaj to create numerous innovativebandish (composition).
Jasraj created a novel form of jugalbandi, styled on the
ancient system of Moorchana, between a male and a female vocalist,
who each sing different ragas at the same time. In his honor, this
legendary jugalbandi is known as The Jasrangi. This
name was coined by music connoisseurs in Pune.
Jasraj has many students, including Rattan Mohan Sharma, Sanjeev
Abhyankar, Ramesh Narayan, Suman Ghosh, Tripti Mukherjee,
Radharaman Kirtane, Girish Wazalwar, Chandrashekhar Swamy, Hemang Mehta, Pritam
Bhattacharjee, Gargi Siddhant and Kala Ramnath. Sadhana Sargam,
a Bollywood singer, Ankita Joshi, Prasad Dusane is one of his
disciples.
In memory of his father, Jasraj organises a musical festival every
year called the Pandit Motiram Pandit Maniram Sangeet Samaroh inHyderabad, India. It
ran for 36 years as of 2008. Jasraj participated at the Sawai Gandharva
Music Festival. He is also recognized as a master of the Bhairav family of
Raags, along with the legendary Raags Darbari Kanada, Miya ki Malhar,
and Jog. He is also known for presenting a wide variety of Rare Raags
including Gyankali, Abiri Todi, Dhanashree, Patdeepki, Purba, Bhavsakh,
Devsakh, Gunji Kanada and Charju Ki Malhar.
Tag :
Vocalists
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
NUSRAT FATEH ALI KHAN ( October 1948 – 16
August 1997), a world renowned Pakistani musician, was primarily a singer
of Qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis. Considered one of the
greatest singers ever recorded, he possessed an extraordinary range of vocal
abilities and could perform at a high level of intensity for several
hours. Extending the 600-year old Qawwali tradition of his family, Khan is widely
credited with introducing Qawwali music to international audiences. He is
popularly known as "Shahenshah-e-Qawwali", meaning "The King of
Kings of Qawwali".
Born in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Khan had his first public
performance at age of 16, at his father's chelum. He became the head of
the family qawwali party in 1971. He was signed by Oriental Star Agencies,
Birmingham, England, in the early 1980s. Khan went on to release movie scores
and albums in Europe, India, Japan, Pakistan, and the U.S.A. He engaged in
collaborations and experiments with Western artists, becoming a
well-known world music artist. He toured extensively, performing in
over 40 countries.
Khan was born on 13 October 1948 in the city of Faisalabad. He was
the fifth child and first son of Fateh Ali Khan, a musicologist,
vocalist, instrumentalist, and Qawwal. Khan's family, which included four
older sisters and a younger brother, Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, grew up in
central Faisalabad. Initially, his father did not want Khan to follow the
family's vocation. He had his heart set on Khan choosing a much more
respectable career path and becoming a doctor, because he felt Qawwali artists
had low social status. However, Khan showed such an aptitude for, and interest
in, Qawwali that his father finally relented. Khan began by learning to
play tabla alongside his father before progressing to learn Raag
Vidya and Bol Bandish. He then went on to learn to sing
within the classical framework of khayal. Khan's training with his father
was cut short when his father died in 1964, leaving Khan's paternal
uncles, Mubarak Ali Khan and Salamat Ali Khan, to complete his
training. His first performance was at a traditional graveside ceremony for his
father, known as chehlum, which took place forty days after his father's
death.
In 1971, after the death of Mubarak Ali Khan, Khan became the
official leader of the family Qawwali party and the party became known as Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan & Party. Khan's first public
performance as the leader of the Qawwali party was at a studio recording
broadcast as part of an annual music festival organised by Radio Pakistan,
known as Jashn-e-Baharan. Khan sang mainly in Urdu and Punjabi and
occasionally in Persian, Braj Bhasha and Hindi. His first
major hit in Pakistan was the song Haq Ali Ali, which was performed
in a traditional style and with traditional instrumentation. The song featured
restrained use of Khan's sargam improvisations.
In 1979, Khan married his first cousin, Naheed (the daughter of
Fateh Ali Khan's brother, Salamat Ali Khan); they had one daughter,
Nida.
Early in his career, Khan was signed up by Oriental Star Agencies
in the U.K. to their Star Cassette Label. OSA sponsored regular concert tours
by Khan to the U.K. from the early '80s onwards, and released much of this live
material on cassette, CD, videotape and DVD.
In the summer of 1985, Khan performed at the World of Music,
Arts and Dance (WOMAD) festival in London.He performed in Paris in 1985
and 1988. He first visited Japan in 1987, at the invitation of the Japan
Foundation. He also performed at the 5th Asian Traditional Performing Art
Festival in Japan.
In the 1992–93 academic year, Khan was a Visiting Artist in
the Ethnomusicology department at the University of Washington, Seattle,
Washington, United States.
Khan
teamed with Peter Gabriel on the soundtrack to The Last
Temptation of Christ in 1985, with Canadian musician Michael
Brookon the albums Mustt Mustt (1990) and Night Song (1996), and with Pearl
Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder in 1995 on two songs for the
soundtrack to Dead Man Walking. One of these songs ("The Long
Road") was re-used on the soundtrack for Eat Pray Love in
2010. Khan also contributed to the soundtrack of Natural Born Killers.
He composed the music for the 1994 film Bandit Queen in
collaboration with Roger White.
Peter Gabriel's Real World label later released five
albums of Khan's traditional Qawwali, together with some of his experimental
work which included the albums Mustt Mustt and Star
Rise. Khan provided vocals for The Prayer Cycle, which was put
together by Jonathan Elias, but died before the vocals could be
completed. Alanis Morissette was brought in to sing with his
unfinished vocals. Khan also collabrated with Michael Brook to create music for
the song "Sweet Pain" used in the movie Any Given Sunday.
He also performed traditional Qawwali before international audiences at several
WOMAD festivals and the single "Dam Mast Qalandar" was remixed
by electronic trip hop group Massive Attack in 1998.
His album Intoxicated Spirit was nominated for a
Grammy award in 1997 for best traditional folk album. Same year his album Night
Song was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album,
but lost out to The Chieftains' album Santiago.
Khan contributed songs to, and performed in, several Pakistani
films. Shortly before his death, he recorded a song each for two Bollywood films, Aur
Pyaar Ho Gaya (in which he also sang the song onscreen) and Kachche
Dhaage. He sang a song for the film Dhadkan. He also sang
"Saya bhi saath jab chhod jaye" for Sunny Deol's movie Dillagi.
The song was released in 1999, two years after Khan's death.
Khan contributed the song "Gurus of Peace" to the
album Vande Mataram, composed by A. R. Rahman, and released to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of India's independence. Rahman, who was a big
fan of Khan could not do further songs with him. As a tribute, Rahman later
released an album titled Gurus of Peace, which featured "Allah
Hoo" by Khan. Rahman's 2007 song "Tere Bina" was also done as a
tribute to Khan.
After his death, the song "Solemn Prayer", on which Khan
provided vocals, was used on the Peter Gabriel song "Signal to Noise"
(on the album Up), and on the soundtrack to the Martin
Scorsese film Gangs of New York.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records,
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan holds the world record for the largest recorded output by
a Qawwali artist—a total of 125 albums as of 2001.
Khan was taken ill with kidney and liver failure on 11 August 1997
in London, England, while on the way to Los Angeles USA in order to receive
a kidney transplant. He died of a sudden cardiac arrest at Cromwell
Hospital, London, on Saturday, 16 August 1997, aged 48. His body was
repatriated to Faisalabad, Pakistan, and his funeral was a public affair.
