A noteworthy journey

Whenever he romanced the microphone, the mustard fields of Punjab came alive. Sukhwinder Singh — who is capable of shaking glass doors in a recording studio with his rusty, powerful voice — has been around for three decades and recently presented a snippet of his genius at MTV Unplugged. He became a household name after Chhaiya Chhaiya (Dil Se, 1998) but few know about his initial struggle in the late 80s.

“I came to Mumbai to meet music composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal. When I first sang to Laxmi ji, he stopped me after two lines and called up Pyare ji. He said, ‘Pyare, abhi aa ja (come immediately), I have found a golden voice’. I remember Pyare ji reached Juhu from his Bandra residence within 20 minutes,” Sukhwinder recalls.

The legendary composers had arranged an indoor concert for Sukhwinder and called all eminent personalities from the film industry.

“I was blessed by everyone that day. Laxmi ji wanted to launch me as a playback singer but I only wanted to learn music from them. They wanted me to quickly sing for films whereas I wanted to start learning quickly. Pyare ji was impressed with my decision,” added Sukhwinder, whose song Jai Ho (Slumdog Millionaire, 2008) won an Oscar.

However, Sukhwinder finally ended up singing for the duo, initially in Karma (1986) and then came the hit Aa Ja Sanam (Khilaaf, 1991).But his enthusiasm crackled gradually and he left India for a world tour. During the expedition, he rediscovered himself. “I saw many operas in Moscow and I noticed that the Russian opera was very polished. I had come up with an album (when in England) called Munda Southall Da where Punjabi folk music was mixed with Russian calypso and jazz. That CD finally reached A.R. Rahman,” says the singer who has been closely associated with the Mozart of Madras for about 20 years now.

He waited for two years for Rahman’s reply. “When I was in London, I barely had a place to sleep. But then, I heard the music of Roja (1992), Bombay (1995) and Thiruda Thiruda (1993) and started on my quest to reach Rahman through his musicians. Rest is history,” says Sukhwinder, who recently sang for the composer in Tamasha (2015).

Sukhwinder also enjoyed the Indipop movement that ruled the roost in the 90s. The culture of pop albums and music videos (mostly screened on MTV and Channel V) faded into oblivion but that didn’t stop the singer from scaling greater heights.

“Music companies wanted artists to promote their own albums. It was becoming expensive and only people who were rich could afford to do so. But things are happening again. One can release singles in the digital format now. It may not become a major hit from day one, but it will all start soon,” he added.

Even though the singer is flexible with the new generation of artists, he is yet to name a favourite from the current crop of singers. “For me, there are only two singers, both Indian as well as international — Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle,” he says.

Before concluding, he narrates an anecdote with Rahman that portrays the witty side of the genius. “I’d once made a request to Rahman who likes recording during the night. I held his hand and told him to record me in daytime. He kissed my forehead, hugged me and then very cutely told me, ‘shut up’. I almost thought he was convinced,” said Sukhwinder.