The video of a remix from the album is being aired on MTVThe roles of singer and human resources (HR) professional are similar. Both need to organise and stimulate. And who would know this better than Sreekant Krishnamurthy. This resident of VP Road, Mulund (west), an HR professional with Tata Consultancy Services, has released his first Indipop album Yeh alag baat hai.
Sreekant is also MTVs ubharta sitara for Jan and the video of the remix of Ek chatura nar from the album is being aired on music channels frequently. The album has different kinds of songs a remix, a qawwali, Punjabi pop numbers, songs based on Sufi music, Rajasthani folk songs and also a romantic number.
Trained in Hindustani classical from Ustad Faiyaz Ali Khan and Ustad Niyaz Ahmed Khan, Sreekant gives the complete credit for this album to his gurus. I am also thankful to Sonali Rathod, who sponsored the first three years of my training, after she heard me sing at a local competition, he says.
Singing for this album has been a great learning experience as I realised that music arrangement gives structure to the whole song, says Sreekant. I also learnt that singing light music is not all that easy. For instance, in light music diction is very important, unlike in classical where the voice or swar is given more importance.
Pronunciation and diction is not very important. Also, singing in a studio is very different from singing on stage. Both require different skills, he adds.
The singer also stars in the video of the remix, shooting for which was a fun-filled experience. Acting came spontaneously to me. The idea of the video was to give a contemporary and Indian feel to the video and to make it fun to watch, says Sreekant.
Sreekant first tasted success when he won the MTV ga-ga contest in 2001. As part of the contest, he got the chance to cut a record with HMV. After this contest he also got the opportunity to join Adnan Samis troupe as an additional singer, with whom he has performed both in India and abroad. He has also performed with singer Sukhvinder.
Sreedhars draws inspiration from Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. From the younger generation, I like Udit Narayan and Shankar Mahadevan. I also fond of Western country music, he adds.
An out-and-out Mulundkar, Sreekant completed his graduation in commerce from Kelkar College and an MBA in HR from SIES College. The college atmosphere, which encouraged extra curricular activities, also helped to hone his talents. And for now, he plans to juggle work and singing as both are equally satisfying.
All to all the starry-eyed youngsters waiting to make it big in the music industry, Sreekant says, Never stop your riyaz or give up singing just because you dont get a break. I believe that the satisfaction a singer gets from his or her song is the biggest reward.
priya@mid-day.com
