Let all the voices sing!

The recently released Race 2 would have us believe that the character played by Saif Ali Khan can transform his singing voice at will perhaps depending on the situation and the leading lady prancing alongside Saif sings in Atif Aslamrsquos voice as he woos Deepika Padukone with lsquoBe Intehaanrsquo he has KK filling in for him in the dance number lsquoParty on my mindrsquo and when he parties with Jacqueline Fernandez a third playback singer Benny Jacob croons the upbeat lsquoLat lag gayirsquo In Race 2 three playback singers mdash Atif Aslam KK and Benny Jacob mdash have lent their voice for Saif Ali Khan The filmrsquos music director Pritam explains ldquoIf I feel a voice suits a song I utilise it Whether the singer is old or new doesnrsquot matter The voice should suit the requirements of the songrdquou00a0It is almost as if every time a contemporary hero clears his throat to launch into song the audience can expect a different playback singerrsquos voice to waft into the airwaves Take the case of 2012rsquos biggest crowd pleaser mdash Ek Tha Tiger Composers Sohail Sen and Sajid Wajid have four different singers exercise their larynxes for leading man Salman Khan in four songs Wajid in lsquoMashallahrsquo KK in lsquoLaapatarsquo Sukhwinder Singh in lsquoBanjaararsquo and Mohit Chauhan in lsquoSaiyyararsquo Not to be outdone there are three different playback singers lending their voice to Katrina Kaif Shreya Ghoshal for lsquoMashallahrsquo Palak Muchhal in lsquoLaapatarsquo and Tarannum Malik in lsquoSaiyyararsquo As Alice would have mulled in wonder itrsquos much of a muchnessu00a0 Gone are the days when actors and singers formed longterm associations and many a playback singer came to be identified as the actorrsquos ghost voice Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle were the exclusive voices of several generations of heroines The heightened emotionalism of Mukeshrsquos voice found expression in Raj Kapoorrsquos films for over 25 years while the versatile Mohammed Rafi gave voice to Dilip Kumarrsquos melancholy miasmas and he also sang most of Shammi Kapoorrsquos boisterous hits Also the gifted Kishore Kumar famously lent his vocal verve to Rajesh Khannarsquos romanticism u00a0Today itrsquos a rarity when singer Mohit Chauhan is employed as the sole voice of Ranbir Kapoor in AR Rahmanrsquos score for Rockstar Avante garde director Bejoy Nambiar who believes in fostering new talent his David has three music directors points out ldquoIt made a lot of sense for Mohit Chauhan to be the voice of Ranbir Kapoor for the whole Rockstar album because Kapoor played a singer But in a different situation therersquos no need to repeat the same singerrdquo Visual marketing medium nowu00a0 Time was when people would flock to theatres to see their favourite singers singing for their favourite actors but now that measure of fanfollowing for singers is hardly in evidence u00a0Bhushan Kumar managing director TSeries makes a pertinent point when he says ldquoEarlier radio was the only medium for the masses so the audience could only hear their favorite singers But now with TV and the Internet they can watch the songsrdquo With music having become a visual medium the actorsinger jodi is no longer of prime consideration at the songrsquos conception stage Kumar reveals ldquoThe choice of singer depends on the composition of the songs Roping in an unknown or a relatively lesserknown singer is not a losing proposition for us Through radio and mobile application their songs are definitely heard by the audiencesrdquo A still from Vicky Donor Tanu Weds Manursquos music director Krsna feels that film music has entered the singles era ldquoIt is not about an album anymore each song is like a different film I would personally refrain from treating a film song like a single but marketing agencies look at songs from the marketing perspective and treat them as stndalonesrdquo he saysu00a0Clearly the requirements from singers have therefore changed Javed Ali who shared the Rowdy Rathore soundtrack with four other singers all singing for Akshay Kumar says ldquoWhat matters today is whether the singerrsquos tonal quality matches the song and not whether it suits the actorrdquo u00a0Musical modus operandi is no longer dictated by the actorsinger chemistry Ali discloses ldquoNowadays different singers are asked to sing the same song so they get a different texture And the singer who sounds the best is finally chosen for the songrdquo A plethora of choices Almost all musicians welcome one aspect of this change mdash it affords new singers an avenue for their talent Ayushmann Khurrana who sang lsquoPaani darsquo in Vicky Donor and even bagged a Best Singer Award for it has also given lip sync to numbers crooned by other singers ldquoI still miss SB Balasubramaniamrsquos voice on Salman Khan that was legendary in the rsquo90srdquo he says but says his thinking is more in step with current trends He says ldquoThe present scenario is the best because it endorses talent Times have changed Earlier it was very difficult to get opportunities But today auditions happen everyday If you are good you will get work It is a welcome changerdquo u00a0Alka Yagnik whose career has been affected by the arrival of new singers also sounds happy at the change ldquoIt is good to have so many singers around instead of just one or two Singers also come into the industry through the reality shows The supply is more than the demandrdquo Have singers become replaceableu00a0 However this influx of singers has also led to their apparent dispensability Javed Ali for instance has a point when he says ldquoPeople donrsquot know who the singer is unless the song does really well Though we are technically very advanced there are so many movies and songs that the lifespan of a song is reducedrdquo However as Krsna argues ldquoBut then films themselves stay in theatres for months Earlier the album would rule the charts for six monthsrdquo Papon who shot to fame with his rendition of lsquoKyunrsquo from Barfi a soundtrack he shares with multiple male singers concedes ldquoA lot of singers are available hence the popularity is divided ldquo But he is confident that ldquono one else can take what is meant for you lsquoKyunrsquo was made for merdquo u00a0Irrespective of their personal take on this trend most musicians in Bollywood have reconciled to this trend of multiple playback singers Wisely heeding the winds of change Yagnik pronounces ldquoChange is the law of nature I may not like it but I accept it gracefullyrdquou00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0 u00a0u00a0