POP GEAR

Mixed Doubles is the last film where he featured as a playback singer. Still,Fernandes continues to be a household name. “I am truly blessed to have this regard from the people,especially in an industry where you’re forgotten six months after a hit.” Lately,he has been busy recording his own music. He has already released a song called India,I Cry on Facebook and YouTube. Since video-making is his newest passion,Fernandes boasts of scripting,directing and even editing his video. There is more to the 54-year-old than just music. He is writing a book and has spent the last few months travelling in Brazil and Egypt.

So what prompted him to make a comeback? “The song was irresistible. It was quite a challenge for me to handle the Hindi lyrics. It has a very high rhythmic energy. At the same time,it has a great melody. I felt a very strong emotional connect with the chorus,somehow,” says the Goa-based singer.

One of the first exponents of fusion music in the country,Fernandes feels that a lot of India’s modern music is simply superb,but unfortunately it is all Bollywood-centric. “Any artiste who has something fresh to offer immediately allows himself to be engulfed by the Hindi film industry. As a result,we don’t have a pure music scene flourishing parallel to the film scene—as they do everywhere else in the world,” he states,while talking about the lack of support he received for his latest album India Beyond. “Indian record companies didn’t see its value,but tracks from it have been signed on and released in the USA,under the Miami-based Opium Garden compilation,and in Paris by Buddha Bar records.”

Fernandes chose Goa over Mumbai as his place of residence and kept the ‘individual music’ flag flying high despite the lack of support from other quarters for years. Now,he feels it’s a losing battle. “I chose music over architecture. I wanted a profession of love—not one which I would pursue with attitudes such as capitalisation,commercialisation and compromise. Record companies,TV channels,and fellow artistes have all sold themselves to Bollywood,” he says wistfully. That’s one of the reasons why he wants to turn a music director now. “This way,my music will find an avenue of exposure.”