‘K uch to log kahenge …’, that classic from Amar Prem , wafted across a conference hall in Holiday Inn Kochi. Only that the singer and the milieu were different. There was neither a lovelorn Rajesh Khanna nor the gorgeous Sharmila Tagore and the singer wasn’t Kishore Kumar either.
It was Srinivas’ tribute to Kishore Kumar. The single ‘ Kuch To Log Kahenge …’, by Saregama, a fitting tribute to the genius on his 25th death anniversary.
Playback singer and music director Shankar Mahadevan officially launched the video, which begins with an opening hum from a composition by Srinivas, ‘ Doore doore …’, and then leads to the song. Srinivas says he realised, “I can creatively never escape the clutches of geniuses such as Panchamda and Kishore da.”
That Srinivas is a Kishore Kumar fan is a well known fact. As playback singer Sujata, who attended the launch, says, “He is possessive about Kishore Kumar to the extent that it annoys him if someone messes up a Kishore Kumar song.”
The single is not, and does not, pretend to be the original. It is not, as Srinivas says, “a remix where you put in a lot of sounds without understanding or knowing the song. I have sung the song and I know the song.” The song is one of Srinivas’ favourites he says. Why ‘ Kuch to …’? “It is a song that keeps coming back to me and to most people. It is a beautiful song.”
The launch was a time for reliving memories and trading friendly jibes. Shankar Mahadevan contested Srinivas’ status as Kishore da’s biggest fan with, “I am a bigger fan.” He also suggested that Srinivas bring out more singles like these at regular intervals. “This will generate interest in non-film music which is important for different kinds of music to be created.”
Music director Sharreth spoke about how he had convinced Srinivas to quit his job and start singing professionally.
Playback singer Venugopal, on flashback mode, reminisced the ‘old days’ when both Srinivas and himself, as youngsters, would argue about who was the better singer . “It used to be me rooting for Mohammad Rafi and Srini for Kishore Kumar,” he goes on, “and then we grew up. And I realised how great Kishore da was without taking the sheen off Mohammad Rafi.”
The track is available at all digital stores and on the Saregama website, >www.saregama.com .
