The nineties are not considered Indias best musical period,Bollywood-wise. Pop was rearing its head and Bollywood was churning out good music only in bits and spurts. But it was also a time when T-Series,run by Gulshan Kumar,made quite a few names popular. And one person,who was at the peak of her career during this time was Anuradha Paudwal. Her varied songs in films like Beta and Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahin had the nation swaying and Paudwal on the music map. Considered extremely close to the musical tycoon,Paudwal was doing extremely well before she left it all for higher grounds in 92. But looking back,Paudwal says that she has no regrets. I am what I am because of the choices I made back then. I left Bollywood music because I consciously wanted to move towards bhakti- sangeet, says Paudwal,who does not sound very convincing. However,as the conversation takes shape,it becomes clear why she found peace in devotional music. It brings me such solace,and makes me feel closer to god, says Paudwal,who is in Chandigarh as a chief guest for a musical evening today,which has been organised by Mukesh Musical Arts and Cultural Society in the memory of legendary singer Mukesh. Mukeshji was such a wonderful person. Not many people know but I sang my first song with him. It was Ek awara badal hun main,but unfortunately,it was never released, says Paudwal,who adds how music is not the same now. She says that everybody sounds the same these days. Even reality shows are churning out musicians,who dont know much about music, rues Paudwal. When we sang,we did it with discipline and had hard task masters who were strict with us. Getting out of tune was forbidden,and it was all the more difficult as there were no technological devices to fine tune the voices artificially. Another thing that irks Paudwal is the lack of music companies like T-Series that promoted artists. No one does it now. There is no real platform to groom or promote an artiste all the way, she says. While the factors for her departure from active playback singing become clearer,Paudwal says that she is still open to singing commercially. It should be something that I like. For instance,the song Kismet se from Pukar, she says. Even item numbers interest her,especially the subtle folk flavoured ones like Munni. Paudwal doesnt discuss the times of contoversy between her and Mangeshkar (She had accused the Mangeshkar sisters of monopoly.) There is a definite change of tune now. Mangeshkars are Mangeshkars. They are real artistes and no one can deny them that. I grew up singing Latajis songs,knowingly and unknowingly learning from her,and,in the process,embracing her as my guru, says Paudwal,who wants to sing with her mentor one day.
