On a High Note with Kavita Krishnamurthy

Contributed By -  Sneha Ranebennur 

Music is in her soul for this legendary playback singer. She is the golden voice of the 90’s. Versatility is her second name. Her captivating voice is like a harmony of angels what leaves you spellbound. She is a gifted vocalist who has entertained Bollywood fans for four decades giving some evergreen hits of all time. Simplicity reveals the pure beauty of life and so does Kavita Krishnamurthy, wearing a simple black salwar speaking with AZINDIATIMES in an exclusive interview.
A Classic mistake that went unnoticed until now…
1. What is the story behind the Iconic Hit ‘Hawa Hawai’? 
KK: Hawa Hawai was around 1986 and it was a big film for Sridevi. I was not sure if they were going to keep my voice, probably I thought it was Asha ji who was going to sing the song. I learnt the song and went to the recording. It was a fantastic song. It was almost 4-5 months later that I got a call from their office and Laxmikant ji gave the good news that my song has been finalized. I was so thrilled and grateful and just before I put the phone down I said, “Oh my God, I have made a small mistake and I have sang one word wrong. Instead of ‘Jaanu Jo Tumne Baat Chhupayee’I sang ‘Jeenu Jo Tumne Baat Chhupayee’”. He kept quiet for a moment and said, “If you see the picturization of Sridevi it is absolutely mind-blowing and the way she has done it looks as though Sridevi has said Jeenu deliberately. There is no question of re-dubbing and if we redo the song you won’t be able to sing the song in the same spirit so we will keep it as it is”. It just became a part of the whole fun game with Sridevi’s breathtaking dance and brilliant expressions garnering epic fame.
2.Is there any of your song you would like to remake? 
KK: (Laughs) There are so many I would like to record again as I feel like I can sing them better. The only regret I have is I personally would have loved to work with 3 music directors who died before I came to the music industry. They are Madan Mohan, S.D. Burman and Roshan saab who were very steeped in Indian Classical and Folk and their compositions stay for centuries. 
3. As you said that those compositions stay for centuries. But in the present-day Bollywood music is missing the good lyrics. What is your take on that? 
KK: I would compare music with food. When you go back and think of your grand mom or mom cooking food with freshly grounded masalas, the aroma itself would be so soul-satisfying. I feel the same about music.If you look at Anand Bakshi, Shailendra saab, Sahil Ludihanvi, Majrooh saab, they were all great Hindi/Urdu poets. Every song like Haal kaisa hai janab ka or Aakhon mein kya jee which ever song they wrote were absolute fits for actors. There was a lot of thought that went into lyrics and portrayed the culture. Today’s songs are like Fast-food. The quality of lyrics is also no greater than Main toh raaste se jaa raha tha, bhelpuri kha raha tha (both laugh). 
4. Who are your favorite contemporary singers and music directors?
KK: Undoubtedly it is Shreya Ghoshal, I love her voice. I also like Sunidhi Chauhan, Sonu Nigam and Arjit Singh. Among the music directors its Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and A.R. Rahman. 

“I did not run after success just put in my hard work” says Kavita Krishnamurthy

5. You have won consecutive Filmfare awards from 1995 to 1997 and also won the fourth highest civilian award in India the Padma Shri in 2005. What are the key factors of your success?
KK: I did not run after success, it was just that the songs at that time did commercially well. Probably they also look at the highest sales of the records. I was lucky that in one year twice I got the chance to sing in front of our late President Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam. I sang all my patriotic songs like I Love My India, Har Karam Apna Karenge. The next year I won the Padma Shri and I feel he was instrumental in that. Also, thanks to my husband it is because of him I started performing internationally and that brought me to the forefront. Padma Shri happened because of my years of hard work. I had missed all the national awards and this award finally made sense because the government recognized me for my work.
6. You had the opportunity to work with a generation of music composers from Laxmikant-Pyarelal, R.D.Burman, Naushad, O. P. Nayyar, Khayyam, Babpi Lahri to A. R. Rahman. Who was your personal favorite and how was it working with them?
KK: For me Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Pancham da (R.D Burman), the firsts to give me breaks, still stay as Gurus. I started singing songs which were for Lata ji. I would dub for her songs which were used for the shooting and finally she would sing them for the album. Those days Lata ji was singing 5 songs a week for Laxmikant-Pyarelal and I ended up singing them all thereby mastering over commercial songs. It was not that easy. In those days if you made a mistake you had to re-record the whole song. But the old masters are old masters. I recorded for O.P. Nayyar, Naushad saab, Khayaam saab, who were very particular about what they wanted. If you had a particular inflection in a song which was not their style they would say, “Beta yeh hamara style nahi hai”.  Ismail Darbar was also stiff. Later on, I even sang for A.R Rahman, who is pretty liberal. He would make you sing a line 10 -15 times the way you wanted, he might make a few suggestions but ultimately, he would pick the line which he likes.

Born to sing and music is her life…

7. Tell us your transformation as young Sharada who wanted to join the Indian Foreign Service to Kavita Krishnamurthy as a playback singer.?
KK: Well, I was born and brought up in Delhi government service atmosphere so obviously I wanted to be in Foreign services. My aunt Protimma Bhattacharya was convinced that my voice could be molded for playback singing and enrolled me in St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai. I happened to meet Mr. Hemant Kumar whose daughter was my classmate. He had heard me singing and told me that as his daughter was not keen on singing with him at concerts, he was looking for a singer. That’s the whole way it started. I was Sharada at that time. And there was a very well-known singer, named Sharda who used to sing for Shankar-Jaikishan and was known for her famous song “Titli udi”. So, at concerts I would have a hard time explain to Sharda fans that I am only her namesake on their demand to sing “Titli udi”. On Hemant da’s suggestion that I change my name, my aunt whose elder daughter was Nandita, chose the name Kavita which worked and much later I officially changed it too.
8. You were formally trained in Rabindra Sangeet from the age of 8. How did a Tamil-born master in Bengali music?
KK: I grew up in the atmosphere of a Bengali and Tamil culture. My Bengali aunt who nurtured me and was with me all the time like a pillar, introduced me to my guru Suruma Basu who taught me Rabindra Sangeet. 

Pyar hua chupke se… 
9. How did you meet your husband Dr. L. Subramaniam the world-famous violinist and music composer? 
KK: I got a call from his office when he was doing Hey Ram and asked me to sing a song for him. I had moved to Bombay and he had moved back to India with his kids. His first wife had passed away due to cancer. So, in 1999 the song happened and he met me in the studio where I was singing a song with Hariharan. And subsequently he had two to three projects and he liked my voice. Then there was a Global Fusion album with the Warner Bros where he was looking for an Indian voice to do the alaap. And with the other projects we spent a lot of time with each other and then he kind of proposed for marriage and by that time I knew he was the right person for me. I also got very attached to the children. 
10. What is your message for the wannabe singers and to our readers?
KK: Be in music only for your love of music. Put in hard work and dedicate your life to music. It should not be because people will recognize you when you walk on the streets or at airports or to be on television and to make good money. Sometimes you may be very talented but not making enough money. If you run after success and if success is not yours, you become embittered. Music should not embitter you; it should put you in a constant state of blissand take you further in life. Make music the way of your life, like I am breathing and music is part of my breath. And in your own way you will find your path to Almighty. 

The conversation came to a melodious end with Kavita Krishnamurthy crooning 
“Pyaar hua chupke se, Ye kya hua chupke se”.