Prem Babu Sharma
The Indian music industry,has been busy being hit with new songs,singers and new genres of music are being introduced, at lightening-fast-pace. So much so that,amidst the fusion of western beats,instruments and even lyrics being fused with Indian music, the beautiful old classical Indian ghazals and songs,have now become reminiscent. They say old is gold, and Saregama India Ltd.’s – new music album release – ‘Timeless Classics Srinivas‘ proved just that. The songs on the album are sung as the title suggests, by the well known singer from the south – Srinivas, who is a two time award winner of the best singer by the state of ‘Tamil Nadu‘, sung more than thousand songs in films and his voice has adorned well known hindi films like – Lagaan, Sapnay, Dil Chahta Hai and many more, the most latest being – Rajnikanth’s Robot. He has also won one Kerala state award. The album title – ‘Timeless Classics Srinivas‘ says it all. The songs are melodiously voiced by Srinivas himself, in his own unique way – Indian classical ghazals, such as – “Bhooli Bisri Chaand”, “Patta Patta Butta Butta”, “Rafta Rafta”, “Aab Ke Hum Bichde” and many more. It is the singers very own, loving tribute to the famous Pakistani ghazal singer ‘Mehdi Hassan‘, this being one of the first things that Srinavas mentioned, “This album has been a labor of love for me. It echoes my love for ghazals, and the one and only Mehdi Hassan saheb. He taught me, from afar, that music can touch the deepest recesses of one’s soul and liberate him from his humdrum existence. I am forever indebted to such great masters. The uniqueness of this album is that the arrangements are contemporary and not the traditional harmonium and tabla..So the ghazal finds itself a new garb. Of course care has been taken to retain the essence and the spirit of the ghazal. I must thank my friend Hentry Kuruvila for helping me find the way and for making the musical arrangements of this album truly spectacular. Hentry’s dedication to his music is what makes this album special. And thanks to all the amazing musicians who have played in this album. Their creative inputs have enhanced the musical value of this album. My sincere gratitude to Sivakumar of AM Studio for mixing and mastering the album. I must also thank my friends, at Saregama India Ltd, who have made the release of this album possible, the right, legal way. And, last and definitely not the least, I can’t thank AR Rahman, my mentor, enough, for his valuable inputs and guidance in shaping the album.”
The world-wide well-known and famously brilliant, music composer and singer – A.R.Rahman, who Srinivas quoted as his mentor, launched the album. Rahman who is said to have overlooked the making of the album.
Mr. Adarsh Gupta , Head of Music Saregama India Ltd comments on the album saying, “Saregama has had a long standing presence in the Ghazal genre with renditions from the biggest names of the past. We believe this genre is in urgent need of revival and hence we constantly look for new offerings in this space. The prospect of Srinivas rendering some of the most popular ghazals from the past presented an interesting dimension for us to back”
About Srinivas:
Srinivas is not just a popular name in the south of India, his is a well known voice and face too. Having sung more than a thousand songs in films, he has been feted and celebrated quite often. He has been awarded the best singer by the Tamil Nadu Govt twice and the Kerala Govt as well. He has also been felicitated with the Kalaimamani title by the Govt of Tamil Nadu. His voice has adorned quite a lot of Hindi film songs as well, right from Sapnay, Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Yuvvraj to the latest Robot. Having graduated from the prestigious U.D.C.T, Mumbai, in dyestuffs technology, he had a lucrative career, with the corporate world, which he threw, to chase his real passion, Music. Apart form singing, Srinivas has also composed music for a couple of Tamil and Malayalam films and many advertisement films.
About Saregama: Saregama India Ltd, formerly known as The Gramophone Company of India Ltd., is listed on the NSE and BSE. It is today India’s largest and best-known music recording company. The breadth of its music catalogue, the largest in India, coupled with a diversified portfolio and undoubted brand images are the company’s biggest strengths. The Company has been intimately associated with the development of Indian music from the time the first recording was made on Indian soil. Saregama owns the largest music archives in India, one of the biggest in the world. The ownership of nearly 50 percent of all the music ever recorded in India makes Saregama the most authoritative repository of the country’s musical heritage.
