Playback Singers in Bollywood

This episode of my radio show, Vidhi’s Bollywood Jukebox, features excerpts from my phone interview with Bollywood singer KK and songs of other great playback singers from Hindi cinema.

I wrote an article in 2019 for On Stage, a subscription-based magazine of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) on the finer nuances on playback singing and spoke to two singers from the industry: Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam and KK. Here’s the full article as it appeared in the December 2019 issue of the magazine

Voices at Work

Playback singing is unique to Indian cinema. The technique of lip-syncing to recorded songs, first introduced by Rai Chand Boral in the Hindi film Dhoop Chhaon (1935), forever replaced the convention of live singing on set. This move opened up separate career avenues for actors and singers. From recording in a studio with two or three accompanists to recording in the presence of a 100-piece orchestra and now to a digital track with auto tune, singing in Bollywood movies has come a long way. While the music is the result of the teamwork between the composer, lyricist and playback singer, a lot of responsibility rests with the singer to deliver a song that carries the right emotions.

Mood and movement

Often referred to as behind-the-scenes actors, playback singers in Bollywood have the dual responsibility of singing as well as emoting. The delicate expressions of grief, joy, jealousy, innocence, adoration and coyness that actors and actresses bring out on screen have to also reflect in the song they lip-sync to. That songs are recorded much before filming begins, makes the task of singers further challenging. Unlike dubbing, where the actors’ expressions are before the voiceover artiste, singers need to rely on their own imagination. Take for example, ‘O Ghata Sanwari’ from the film Abhinetri (1970), sung by Lata Mangeshkar. In a sequence of its picturisation, actress Hema Malini is seen doing a light workout while lip-syncing to the song. Upon reaching a difficult forward bend, Mangeshkar’s voice goes ‘ghungrooo…oooo…mereeeee’, peppered with the right number of sighs, and panting as if she were singing live to Malini’s workout routine.

From her pleading charm to teasing ways, the changing mood of actress Madhubala in the song ‘Achaaji Main Haari Chalo’ in Kala Pani (1958) is matched word to word by Asha Bhosle. In the iconic film Pyaasa (1957), Mohammed Rafi sings ‘Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind Par’ in a low, dejected tone, adding occasional slurs and coughs to seamlessly match the drunkenness and resentment of the film’s protagonist, Vijay. “The [music] director would give an idea of what the song situation required. Then you would enact it as best as you could,” celebrated playback singer Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam explains. Elaborating on the many factors that come into play while recording a song, she says, “A song like ‘Tu Hi Re’ (Roja, 1992) was challenging because [the range is] extremely high. When I stood before the mic, I was quite sure it was beyond my range, but somehow when you want to record a song, you stretch yourself to the fullest of your ability. Also, on that particular day, your voice has to help and be at its best. I was able to reach those notes and do it.” Contemporary playback singer, Krishnakumar Kunnath, more popularly known as KK, adds, “You enact a song like an actor does his scenes.” For a desolate song like ‘Awaarapan Banjarapan’ from Jism (2003), KK dipped into the memory of the countless times he witnessed distress and loneliness among people living on the streets to feel the song better while lending his voice to it.

Elemental to acting

Singers, ever since the golden era of Bollywood during the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, have enjoyed as much stardom as actors and actresses. The singers of yesteryear perceived a situation and imbibed the mannerisms of the featured artiste with such accuracy that it gave rise to hit pairings between singers and actors. Most artistes at the time had a favourite singer whose voice was best suited for their lip-syncing. Raj Kapoor preferred the earthy, simple tone of Mukesh’s voice while Dev Anand’s perky demeanour was complemented in song by Kishore Kumar. On Rafi’s demise, Shammi Kapoor famously remarked, “Today, I have lost my voice.” Despite the favourite pairings, the versatility and universality of their voices are virtues most admired in successful playback singers.

Bhosle elaborates in an interview how female vocalists in the past were expected to modify their style of singing according to the film’s actress. The playback singer’s nuanced observations were expected to bring out the actress’s personality – whether she was petite, bold or older – in her singing. Music composers direct studio recordings, suggesting changes to the singer, but for the most part, a song is as good as the singer’s understanding and perception of it. Subramaniam mentions an instance when music director Laxmikant, of the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo, gave her a free rein for one of his songs: “When I sang ‘Main Hoon Roop Ki Rani’ for the film Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993), for some operatic alaaps, Laxmiji said, ‘Why don’t you think of something and do it yourself?’ and it worked for the song.” On the rare occasion when the director is not present in the studio, the singer has to rely on his/her own judgement to deliver the song. For example, KK was on tour in Australia when composer Pritam called him with an urgent request to record ‘Tu Jo Mila’ for Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015). Not willing to wait for a month until his return to Mumbai, Pritam suggested he record the song overseas by listening to the scratch recording and give it ‘the KK treatment’. KK listened to the lyrics and melody, ensuring he got the feel and essence of the song right before he went ahead with the recording. The director and composer were so happy with the outcome that the song was not only used in the film, but it became a narrative track appearing in crucial scenes throughout the film.

Unusual methods and inspirations

The unique demands of playback singing have made singers develop their own tools for mastering the art, much like acting. KK prefers to write out the lyrics of a song by hand. In fact, what he has developed over his 23-year career can be called his go-to recipe for recording a song with the right emotions. He elaborates on the process, “I don’t take a ready script. I always write down the lyrics in Hindi. That way, I form an attachment to the lyrics. Even while we’re in the studio chatting away before the recording, I’m cued into the song. I listen to it two to three times and soak it up. Then I just let it simmer inside me. And then I react.” Using more culinary references, he adds, “It’s hard to describe [the singing process] but it’s like making a very special dish for family or friends. If you try too hard, you overcook it. With a song, you just have to let it in and then in an hour or two, it does what it has to. If you are struggling longer than that, it’s not happening that day for sure.”

Sonu Nigam, while recording the popular song ‘Yeh Dil Deewana’ for Pardes (1997), added extra punches to the word dil to bring out the pain of heartbreak experienced by the character. He often speaks of how he took inspiration from Michael Jackson’s singing style for this song, punctuating words with powerful ‘aahs’ in several places. Around the time Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (2001) was being made, Nigam was greatly influenced by singer Lucky Ali, and tried to imbibe the intensity of his style in the song ‘Rabba’. Other than musical inspirations and emotional techniques, singers are also known to have used physical devices for recording songs. For the timeless number, ‘Khaike Paan Banaraswala’ in the movie Don (1978), Kumar actually chewed on Banarasi paan while singing. At a time when there was no technology to produce an echo effect in songs, Rafi created the same by modulating his voice and adjusting his distance from the microphone. The song was ‘Akele Akele Kahan Jaa Rahe Ho’ from the movie An Evening in Paris (1967). Rafi’s ingenuity enhanced the visual of a handsome Shammi Kapoor singing aloud from the ski chairlift amid Alpine vales.

Intonation and enunciation

Lyrics in Hindi films hold magical powers to evoke the desired emotions in listeners. It follows that a lot of emphasis is laid on the enunciation of words and how well the singer can employ them to convey the mood of the song. Who can forget the rendition of Shakeel Badayuni’s Urdu ghazal ‘Mere Mehboob Tujhe’, in Rafi’s impeccable voice featured in Mere Mehboob (1963)? However, the same Urdu language once posed a hurdle for Mangeshkar. Early on in her career, she was mocked by actor Dilip Kumar for her poor talaffuz (pronunciation). She immediately sought to fix that by going through rigorous language training by a maulana. Later, the songstress went on to sing ‘Bekas Pe Karam Kijiye’ and other Urdu-heavy songs for Mughal-E-Azam (1960), starring Madhubala and Kumar.

Yet, given the unpredictable nature of Bollywood music, there have also been times when the opposite of perfect diction has worked for a song. In the year 1987, Laxmikant had called on Subramaniam to record ‘Hawa Hawai’ for the film Mr India. It was meant to be sung by Bhosle, but trial recordings by other singers are not unusual in the industry. The classically trained Subramaniam was apprehensive of singing a song with funny nonsensical lyrics, but did it nonetheless. Several months later, she received a call from the music composers saying her version would be used in the film since her voice suited the actress more and some unusual pronunciations on her part actually added to the appeal of the song. “I knew it was a fun song and I included my own slightly semi-Western inflections into it. Fortunately, it stayed in my voice and the song did well,” she recalls. Rafi sang in a childish voice for ‘Chakke Pe Chakka’ for the movie Brahmachari (1968). Kishore Kumar, inspired by country music artistes Jimmie Rodgers and Tex Morton, painstakingly learnt the art of yodelling by listening to Austrian folk music records and set up a trend that still remains unequalled.

There are perhaps as many styles and techniques to ‘own’ a song as there are playback singers in Hindi cinema. Each method, however, culminates in one goal – to help filmgoers make an emotional connect with songs. Without this tailored approach, we would not have memorable songs that match every mood and make us hum along while feeling the corresponding emotion.