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Hey, hey it's KK!

Singer KK just won himself another set of fans, this time on the west coast

PHOTO: G. KRISHNASWAMY

RIGHT AMBIENCE KK: `Performing live has a charm of its own'

"Jab saans hain awaz hain, phir kis liye hich kichana," he sang exuberating energy. And thousands of Mangaloreans sung along with him. Dedicating "Tu aashiquein hain," as prayer to the gods seemed to pay off because even though the sky was heavily overcast, the rain gods did not play spoilsport.

The music came from a man who believes that music has no language. "It is melody that guides me as I sing," says Krishna Kumar Kunnath, better known as KK. Excerpts from an interview:

Do you like live concerts or playback singing?

Performing live has a charm of its own. It is nice to perform before people rather than walls. But playback has its own place. Opportunities for live performances come through success in playback.

You have been performing live for many years. How has performing changed over the years?

I have been giving stage performances since I was in second standard. I have always loved the stage. I don't think I ever had stage fright. Back then, what I loved about the stage experience was that I was the centre of attention. Now I want people watching me to enjoy themselves too. You know, it's especially difficult to get people to enjoy themselves at corporate shows. Most people are so stiff and I have to make a real effort to get them to let their hair down.

So how do you get them on their feet?

Oh, I try lots of things. It takes time to convince them to have fun, but eventually they do. I can get a little naughty too like pulling people off their seats to get them to dance.

Success has not come easy for you. Looking back...

The best thing for me was that I had my wife by my side throughout my struggle. Life was much easier because she was around all the time. In fact, the decision to move to Mumbai was by her. I was doing reasonably well in Delhi singing jingles for advertisements. But you can grow only to a certain point in Delhi. Those days, I waited to hear my jingle on television. Often, we would send a scratch from Delhi. But somebody would redo it in Mumbai. My wife was like: "If you want to pursue music, you got to go to Mumbai."

I did not know anyone in Mumbai. All I knew was I could sing. I made a demo tape of two English songs and sent them to several companies and music directors. There was no response for some time. Then Leslie Lewis called me for a jingle. And gradually things began to improve. I got my first film offer in 1994 on the day my son Nakul was born. He has been very lucky for me.

Was not having trained in music ever a problem?

Initially, it was difficult. Some directors would say, "Par aap ne seekha nahi hain." But I think you don't need to learn music; you are born with it. You see the lyrics, listen to the song and then you sing. Lyrics are very important for me. They breathe soul into a song. Actually, a song simply channels an emotion through music. Singing can be an emotional drain.

There are lots of film songs where the lyrics aren't exactly meaningful. Ever wished you had not sung a particular song?

I don't live to regret. There was an occasion recently: the first antara of the song was really beautiful. But the second antara was cheap. Initially I was a little lost about what to do. Then I called the music director and explained to him. The lyricist was asked to change the paragraph. Of course, I could do that because I have attained a certain level in the profession.

SAVITHA SURESH BABU

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