She is a classical singer, better known for her inclination towards ghazals and bhajans. She won the Best Ghazal Singer award for her album ‘Aaghaaz’in the 1980s.
Recently, she added another feather to her cap by winning the Mission Ustaad reality show on television channel 9X. In a chat with Radio and Music.com’s Anita Iyer, talented singer Sunali Rathod reveals her future plans and her delight at winning the show.
Excerpts:
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Did you expect to win the show, particularly as you and Roopkumar were the oldest couple in the competition?
It was not really that we were strong contenders but we were the ones who have been singing for a long time, which worked to our advantage. We had infused our effort with a lot of innovation, be it the original songs or the existing ones.
What was much tougher in the show, singing the original songs or the popular ones?
Both me and Mr Rathod are students of music and belong to a classical background. I strongly believe that once a person has learnt music and is well versed with all genres – qawwali, pop, ghazal etc., nothing is difficult. It was more challenging to do original songs with lyrics matching the theme of the episode. We were given the liberty to choose our composers and lyricists and work on the whole idea. But I would like to thank Mehboob for his wonderful lyrics, we used to brief the lyricist about our preference and the outcome was fantastic.
How was the experience to be a part of Mission Ustaad?
Being a part of Mission Ustaad was a creatively enriching experience for both of us as we have never done any reality show in the past. And the charitable cause to promote the goals of the United Nations (UN) was an added incentive to take part in the show and perform well.
Was it difficult to cope as there were a lot of young contestants in the show to compete with?
I believe the younger generation has a sporty, pranky style of singing, which is very different from what the industry was earlier. Songs today necessarily involve a lot of jumping and dancing and saucy videos. The younger generation is more aware of its looks and so it was no cake walk to compete with them! We had to put in lot of efforts to excel.
Where do you think the music industry is headed? How has the music industry evolved from when you began singing in the 1980s till date?
The music industry has changed drastically today with more emphasis given to being seen than being heard. And also, much of the music is connected to Bollywood and different genres like hip hop, ghazals, qawwali are not yet recognised and the main variations are only classical or the film songs.
What changes are needed to change this situation in the music industry?
As songs are mainly associated with Bollywood, the concept of music icons does not exist. Our industry needs to produce icons which are independent of Bollywood and I wish to be that musical icon, which is why I have been innovating right from the beginning and all my albums have a different element in them.
You made your debut as a pop singer with the album ‘This is me’in 2006. So, what are your future plans?
My album ‘This is me’composed by Leslie Lewis was a far cry from the ghazals and other types of songs I was always associated with. It was very innovative, I changed my image for the album and my audiences liked it instantly. My husband, Roop Kumar Rathod fell in love with me all over again!
Who has been your role model or driving force in music?
My style of music culminated from a variety of forces like in classical, I like Kishori Amonkarji and in filmi songs I like the way Lataji and Ashaji sing. In ghazals, I look forward to Noor Jahan and Farida Khanumji and also I like the free style of Celine Dion.
How lucrative is it to perform in India and abroad?
When we perform abroad, like in the UK, the audiences there are hungry for our music and we get lots of accolades. Whereas in India, it is a fashion to hold ghazal nights and it’s more about the big names performing in the concert than the music being played by them. However, abroad, the listeners do take the pain to listen to our music before attending any concert and also place farmaish (preferences) to be sung in the show.
Now that you have established yourself, what does music mean to you?
Music to me is life, seems a clich?© but true. It is just a part of me and I am incomplete without music. I love to hear music in every condition, if I am in jubilant mood I love to hear music as also if I am feeling low or unwell, music is medicine for me!
What do you plan to do in the near future?
I and my husband are coming up with a few interesting albums in different genres- like qawwali and ghazal compositions in one album and soft and tock songs in the other album. Also, after the exposure I received in Mission Ustaad, many have realised the variety of songs I am capable of and many film negotiations are in the pipeline, but I am primarily looking out for songs that would suit my personality and voice.
