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Don’t be fooled by his simple persona. Bollywood’s ace playback singer Sukhwinder Singh of "Chaiyya Chaiyya" and "Jai Ho" fame runs deep. Even though he is riding high, what with three hit songs ("Bismill", "Radhe Radhe" and "Happy Budday") in a row, when he talks it’s not some man high on the adrenalin rush of success. Rather philosophically, almost in a mood of contemplation, he shares what it takes to be a good playback singer. Sure, it’s the combination of director, star and the singer that makes a film song. He calls music director the singer’s first friend for it’s the composer, who decides who will sing this song? As Sukhwinder has had the privilege of singing for the very best of composers like A.R. Rahman and Vishal Bhardwaj, he hails them as very special people. He can even sense a similarity between the two and that is their ability to appreciate others. Though Bollywood is often seen as cut-throat dog-eat-dog place, this Amritsar boy insists that competition and aggression have a place only in sports and not in the world of entertainment. Actually, the secret of his long innings in Bollywood, he insists, "is the absence of aggression and arrogance. These traits breed competition and insecurity both of which are antithetical to creativity and worse still dilute romance." And romance, he believes, is the key to good music, especially film music. "We are entertainers and we can entertain only if we enjoy our songs ourselves." So even when he sings a difficult song like "Bismill," he doesn’t allow the challenge to intimidate him. And has a ready explanation for it, "Were I to approach a song as one big onerous task, it would adversely affect my singing." His only concern while rendering a playback number is the situation and the character on which the song is being picturised. The star or superstar status of the actors does not bother him. He says, "Often I don’t even know on whether I am lending my voice to a superstar or a newcomer. And if I do, I only take it as an additional piece of information. Seriously, it doesn’t really matter. Superstars like SRK play many different roles in different films. Were I to focus on SRK the man, I would be completely waylaid, as in real life he is not what he appears in films." Indeed, SRK is a friend in whose movie Happy New Year, he has sung the boisterous "Radhe Radhe". Certainly, he has great regard for music director duos Vishal Shekhar and Salim Sulaiman and many others. But Sukhwinder doesn’t pick and choose. He says, "I am open to singing for anyone who has a passion for music. Before them I submit and surrender." He never buckles under pressure of flops. Amid the bevy of superhit songs if a few don’t work, he not only takes it in his stride but analyses it threadbare. Actually flops or hits, he is constantly on a self-assessment mode. Yet, he has no plans for future. He says, "If I were to think about my future myself, what would God plan for me?"A firm believer of ‘present is the best gift’ he continues to sing and gift us songs that have an eternal appeal.
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