Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
When I had to sing 'Kajra re' for 'Bunty Aur Babli,' I thought that my voice will not match that of Amitabh Bachchan's.
I stand in support of royalty for singers, but sometimes things happen all of a sudden and you have to sign a contract.
One has to sing from the heart to let it touch the right chords. Unless you enjoy the song, your listener will not either.
My father belongs to Muzaffarnagar. Though I was born and brought up in Delhi, we, as a family, are known as U.P. wallahas.
To be honest, I hadn't realised the greatness of film music till I was exposed to film songs after I started living in Mumbai.
Eventually, I began singing in various shows. It was then that I started appreciating the breadth and depth of Hindi film music.
I have always been complimented that my voice matches all actors like Shahid Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan.
A lot of singers entered the industry with me. A lot of them struggled. Many have not been able to make it but some have sustained.
As I grew older, I realised that I could be versatile. I decided to try out a variety of singing styles by becoming a playback singer.
In the beginning, many composers didn't have confidence in me. It's not their fault. It only comes after you've delivered your first hit.
From my early training days, I am an avid listener of heavy music which is laced with proper diction and effective use of grammar of music.
It's an amazing experience to perform in Nagpur! Music aficionados here appreciate good music and shower their love magnanimously on artistes.
When I came to Mumbai, I realised an individual should be versatile, and in playback singing you have different genres where you can explore yourself.
I am huge fan of Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, Ghulam Ali and Mehdi Hassan. Listening to these people inspired me to become a singer.
Sufi music talks about connecting people. It talks about connecting hearts and connecting man with God. Everything that talks about connection is Sufi.
I personally make sure that my songs are all original without any technical help, and only when that happens that I get complete satisfaction as a singer.
Tum Tak' is a beautiful thought and is a rhythmic expression. It's been composed beautifully. It may sound easy but is difficult to attempt or sing it live.
Music is a blessing which God has given to all of us. All of us might not be able to sing but we have an ear for songs and music, that itself is a big blessing.
I am not a known face and a lot of people wouldn't recognise me if I walked into a room. But that's okay with me. I want people to recognize me through my work.
Ustad Ghulam Ali has been a huge influence and has guided me constantly. In fact, it was he who suggested I change my stage name to Javed Ali from Javed Hussain.
I do not support that everyone has to be a trained classical singer to be able to sing in films but some sort of knowledge in classical space can take you to places.
Many people say that theatre has no money, but it has been the stepping stone for the best film actors of our times like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Paresh Rawal, etc.
I have got a lot of appreciation from people and they really like my voice in Sufi songs, so I will continue with that, but I'm also experimenting with other types of songs.
I know that composers know my voice type and what songs will suit me. I have been able to mould my voice according to the nature of the song given to me, be it rock, pop or jazz.
Gujaratis not only love music, but they equally appreciate the artists. They express their appreciation wholeheartedly, they dance with you, sing along and always enjoy the music.
Your knowledge remains limited if you just listen to your songs but you grow as a singer when you listen to other singers' work - their style, accent and modulation. You end up absorbing new things.
People are surprised when they realise that I have sung 'Tinku Jiya' as they felt it was not my genre. As a musician, till the time I don't try something, I don't refuse it. I like challenging jobs.
For listeners, the song 'Kehne ko jashn-e-baharaa hai' looks a very easy number. In fact, it was a challenge to sing the song as I had to really suppress my voice and make it appear like a casual track.
I still recall how nervous I was when I went for the recording of 'Guzarish'… When I reached the studio, all of them were there - Rahman, Aamir Khan, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and director A.R. Murugadoss.
In independent music, you are the badshah and there are no restrictions, which allow you to embrace your true music. Whereas in playback, your first obligation is to your music director and then to your sensibilities.
Until I started performing in public, when at the end of the concert people would come to me with teary eyes and say that my performance took them to a trance zone, I had no idea that I can create an impact with my singing.
I have sung songs for several actors in movies, including Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. Unfortunately, even after singing songs for their movies like 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' and 'Raees,' the two actors have not lip-synced them on screen.
Coming from a middle class background, I faced a lot of hardships during my initial years in Mumbai. I did not have much money and had to sing jingles and bhajans to survive. But those years taught me that a singer should be versatile.
One of the interesting things about watching a kid perform is that they are too innocent to understand how talented they are… they have no inhibitions. If you ask them to sing, they will sing based on whatever training and practice they have.
My association with the Times of India has been a great journey. I have done over 15 shows within two years for the brand. I am glad to be a part of their events, as it gives me an opportunity to interact and perform for my fans across the country.
Some of my fans tell me that my voice is more suited for romantic numbers, some others say I do Sufi songs better. But that just goes to say that people are more aware of the different genres now. More people are getting exposed to sufi music because of Bollywood, which is good.
There was a time in the 1980s when music was almost over. If you think about it, it will be tough for you to remember any song which came during that time. But now music has come back. There are amazing musicians like Vishal-Shekhar, Amit Trivedi, Sneha Khanwalkar who are doing a good job.