The success of number Pilla Raa from RX100 which has crossed 35 million views online is majorly due to the vocals of 25 year-old Anurag Kulkarni. He’s also lent his voice to hit numbers Choosi Chudangane from Chalo , the title song of Mahanati and Mooga Manusulu both in Tamil and Telugu and Mellaga Tellarindhoi from Satamanam Bhavathi and some more melodies.
His latest is Modalavudham from Srinivasa Kalyanam and one from Geeta Govindham which is a last minute addition to the album. The Telangana-born computer engineer and now singer from Kamareddy has sung close to 140 songs in just the span of a year and a half.
There is versatility in each of Anurag’s songs and he acknowledges it with all humility, adding “I always want to give something fresh. The Mahanati title song was aimed at the youth and the producers wanted it from popular Mumbai singers but before that they just tried the reference track with me. They found it youthful, the texture connected and the rest is history. They composed it for the visual and not the story first. To sing demo tracks one will have to work with music director’s assistants and lot of factors should fall in place. It isn’t easy. Accepting multiple textures from a singer by a music director and the audience is always nice. I rate my song in Ee Nagariniki Yemaindhi as one of the most beautiful compositions.”
Anurag’s childhood was a culmination of devotional and spiritual environments, bhajans and pujas . He began learning classical music late, when he was 16. None in the family knew anything about music but they all would speak of and listen to lot of Marathi devotional songs and music. That is because he grew up in the borders of Maharashtra. Anurag would sing bhajans and knew nothing of film music then.
He cites the difference between Hindustani and Carnatic and adds, “People would say music teleeyaka poyina baga padthunnadu. Whatever I would listen I would imitate and that’s how I started winning competitions and getting noticed. Then I met a Guru who taught me Hindustani classical music. Hindustani music is prominent in North India, it is based on the audience’s interest, here in South, we are inclined towards devotional music like Keertana and Kritis . I was one of the very few high pitch singers in Hyderabad and one of the very few Hindustani classical singers so they took me in Nikhil’s Sankarabharanam and as word spread, I started getting offers.”
Can one argue that bagging an opportunity to sing for a movie based on luck and even more so on director’s choice? How would they remember whose voice is best for a particular song? Anurag stresses that every singer has a unique quality and none can copy that; it is the potential and hard work that matter. “A director needs a voice that meets a particular requirement, he will look for existing local singers and if he doesn’t get that here he will go to Mumbai. I was a chorus singer for at least 90 films. The music directors get a lot of demo tracks and hundreds of singers send these demos. The director senses the magic in some voice... it is not planned. Back in the day, a song was composed for Kishore Kumar or Mohd Rafi... but these days, the music is based on sound. Thanks to AR Rahman, the industry is using a new singer for every song based on the texture of the voice. The process has become experimental and each song gets a different color or it gets enhanced when different people sing for it and he will ultimately pick the right one. About the Aalap in Satamanam Bhavati , I was singing chorus for A..aa and Mickey J Meyer heard my voice and composed a song for me. Getting good songs is okay but sustaining it is the challenge, say my parents.”
