‘I have not retired’

In her latest ghazal album, Saadgi, the inimitable Lata Mangeshkar has simplified the ageless musical form for easier mass consumption. In a freewheeling interview, she throws light on the experiment and what it really portends

Your last album, Sajda, was released 17 years ago. Why this long gap?
There is no particular reason for the gap. I was always keen that my next album had to be a ghazals album. So I think the decreasing popularity of ghazals over the years somehow contributed to the delay in the making of Saadgi. Ghazals have become less popular. Even the frequency of ghazals concerts has drastically reduced. So though I had worked on four songs with three different shayars, I was always toying with the idea as to what to do with them when Javed Akhtar came on board and I did four more songs with him and we all decided to bring out the eight songs as a ghazals album. That’s how Saadgi happened. My only brief was not to make it too difficult so that the common man could understand and enjoy our album.

Why this keenness on a ghazal album, when you could have done any genre of non-film music?
I had done two ghazals albums earlier— Ghalib and Sajda. And though a lot of time has passed, the two albums are still quite popular and are my personal favourites.

Why did you opt for a new music director like Mayuresh Pai when you could have got the best in the industry to compose for you?
Mayuresh Pai is a student of Suresh Wadkar. I had earlier worked with him while recording for an album (Antarnaad) on (ex-PM) Atalji’s songs. So when he told me that he wanted to compose for some ghazals we teamed up. I have always enjoyed working with new music directors.

Does Saadgi have any over-riding theme or tone? How did you zero in on the name?
Ghazals are normally sad, but we have tried to have a mix of various emotions in Saadgi. The album captures varied moods with sad, romantic and philosophical songs. My first tribute album Shradhanjali was a big hit. Sajda also topped the charts. too was quite popular. I think the letter ‘S’ is lucky for me. So when we were planning this album, one of its lyricists, Meraz Faizabadi, suggested a few titles starting with the letter S. I liked Saadgi.

The word ‘Saadgi’ also personifies your personality…
That’s a perception the people and media have created about me. What more can I say apart from thanking them for their kind thoughts?

How easy or difficult is it to sing a ghazal vis-à-vis other genre of songs? Which are your all time favourite Hindi film ghazals?
No song is easy. Light music has its own colours while classical songs have their own meter. It’s not easy to sing ghazals either. My rendition of Ghalib’s ghazals for the album Ghalib was a bit hatke in the sense that it was more classical. Sajda had an interesting play of tabla and a slightly modern touch reflecting Jagjit’s style of music. Saadgi is simpler. I guess people prefer simple lyrics.
My all time favourite Hindi film ghazals include those composed by Madan Mohanji like Lag ja gale and Jo humne dastan apni sunayi and Woh chup rahen to mere dil ke daag jalte hain.

You had put a ban on working with T-series over cover versions of your songs. How come Saadgi is being released by T-Series?
I had done two albums for my brother with T-series when Gulshan Kumar was alive, but they hadn’t been publicised well. However, his son Bhushan is doing a good job with the publicity of Saadgi. I am still upset over the issue of violation of copyrights, but it wasn’t a battle against any particular individual. Though most of my work has been with HMV, occasionally I have worked with other companies too.

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After Ashaji’s appearance as a ‘mahaguru’ on SaReGaMaPa there have been media reports on you next being a guest judge on some reality music talent show or the other. Have you decided on any?
I don’t want to judge any reality show. Most contestants sing songs sung by me, Rafi sahab, Kishore da and our other contemporaries. Par hamare gaane ratt ratt ke gaane mein kaun si badi baat hai? You can’t judge a singer on the basis of a 90-second performance. They should have the gyan of classical music. Real talent is one who can sing his/her own composition and should have a distinct voice.

What do you think of contemporary playback singers? Who are your favourites? Your favourite song among recent compositions?
Those who sing in films today are pretty good. My favourites are Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan and Kunal Ganjawala. Even Alka Yagnik, Sunidhi Chauhan and Shreya Ghosal are doing a good job. My favourite song in recent times is Kiska hai yeh tumko intzar main hoon naa (Main Hoon Naa).

What’s your take on playback singing today?
You hardly have songs like those composed in our days. In Mughal-e-Azam, I had 12 songs but in today’s films every other song is recorded by a different voice. In one film I used to sing a sad song, a fun song, a lullaby… but forget variety, how many solo songs do today’s singers get in a film?

After Veer Zaara you seem to have cut down on songs. Are you contemplating retirement?
I have not retired but I sing only what I like. I don’t sing much these days as I can afford to be choosy. I first listen to a song and if I like it, then only I sing it. I guess the composers too would be thinking that ‘Yeh gaana Lata ke liye nahi hai’ for most of the songs they are churning out today. As regards Veer Zaara, Yash Chopra is one filmmaker whom I can never turn down. I have sung all the songs in all his films up to Veer Zaara, but now even he has stopped directing films and I guess I don’t fit the kind of music one hears in the films directed by other filmmakers under his banner.

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Asha Bhosle is planning to bring out her autobiography soon. Have you seen the rough draft? Are you also planning to write one?
I haven’t had the opportunity to discuss her book. Though I have asked her once or twice on how her autobiography is shaping, she always tells me that there’s still a lot of time left for its completion. I too had plans of writing an autobiography, but right now I have dropped the idea .

Are any other albums on the anvil? Have you given up on doing public shows?
After Saadgi I am doing an album on Meera bhajans, which will be followed by another with artists from India and Pakistan. I also have a few Marathi albums in mind.
Currently I am working on four or five more projects, which will be out in quick succession.
Though I have performed in over 100 shows in India and abroad, I try to avoid doing outdoor shows.

What is your normal day like?
My normal day includes a bit of reading, cooking and watching TV. I don’t do riyaaz everyday but I watch a lot of old and new films at home. Earlier, I used to go to the theatres to see new releases, but nowadays I avoid going out because people start crowding and asking for autographs. I don’t like everyone clicking pictures of me, especially with their mobile phones.