Bella Jaisinghani

Mohammed Rafi was so mild-mannered his family found it hard to believe that he actually sang all those boisterous numbers for Shammi Kapoor! One is reminded of this analogy on meeting Shubha Mudgal.
So soft-spoken, elegant and controlled that you wonder at the association her voice has acquired with music that she quips “makes noise”!

Nachoon Sari Sari Raat, her fifth pop album, is due for release next week and Ms Mudgal hopes it will do well like Ab Ke Sawan and Mann Ke Manjeere. The album has been composed by Delhi-based guitarist Satish Sharma, who has also written some of the lyrics.

Indeed, most of the team of this album, with the exception of the singer, of course, seems to be new. “Oh, Mr Sharma has been quite active on the regional scene. I know him as the owner of a studio where I have recorded a number of songs,” Ms Mudgal says. The other lyrics are by Dahliya Sen Oberoi, whom the singer introduces as the sister of Euphoria band member, Palash Sen. “Dahliya is an interesting person. She’s a copyright lawyer who enjoys writing poetry!” Ms Mudgal explains.

The singer liked her lyrics? “Well, Dahliya’s style is simple, not like that of Prasoon Joshi who wrote for Mann Ke Manjeere. Prasoon’s words have more imagery!” Ms Mudgal says. But she will not qualify the songs in her new album as simplistic, and instead uses the words “more forthright” to describe them!

One asks Ms Mudgal if she likes simple lyrics to be complemented by equally simple tunes and tie up the more meaningful ones with intricate compositions. “No, nothing like that! I am always willing to experiment. Besides, there’s no formula for success!” she says.

The video of the title song, which was shot a few days ago, is vibrant and colourful in keeping with the feisty sound track. The marketing team of the album wants listeners to know that Nachoon... has been adapted from a very popular Rajasthani folk song called Rooni, and that it has been picturised using the terah taali and chaari dance forms. The video will be aired shortly and the album is due for release on December 20.

So that is when the real test comes. In any case, Ms Mudgal has enjoyed her work so far. She laughingly says she even managed the video shoot, although it is something she is not very comfortable with. “In fact, I am quite terrified! That is the reason I did not feature in Mann Ke Manjeere, after making an appearance in Ab Ke Sawan! I got so self-conscious I even went on record to say I would not act in any of my videos again!” she smiles. “But Atul Churamani of Virgin Records insisted that I do, and it was like giving in to a friend!”

She is associated with Virgin Music in more ways than one. “I have joined them as a consultant on their classical music repertoire. We have a few really good projects on hand,” she informs us. “The first is a series of classic jugalbandis. Also, we are now editing a series featuring five prominent musicians who have performed at some lovely heritage properties managed by the Taj group of hotels. So you have Bhimsen Joshi performing at the Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad, and the like.”

Among the other proposals put up by Ms Mudgal involved procuring archival recordings by old masters, that are in the possession of musicians or private collectors. This idea appealed to Virgin. She says, “This project is particularly interesting. We will feature rare recordings by stalwarts, some of whose names people might not even be familiar with. These are essentially gurus, veterans who have trained the masters we know, but have gone unnoticed themselves.
For instance, Yeshwant Buwa Joshi’s name is regarded with great reverence in the music fraternity, but ordinary listeners might not even know.”

Last week, Ms Mudgal was in New Delhi to mark the release of a bhajan album which she rendered for Oshoworld. “This album has verses by Meera, Kabir and Amir Khusro. Osho held them in high esteem, and even delivered some memorable lectures on them,” she says. “We hope the album will bring listeners back to the word of these saints, because we seem to be losing touch with them.” But, of course, this release will not receive as much publicity as Nachoon...
despite its qualitative value, and despite the fact that Ms Mudgal herself has composed the tunes, because it is not being promoted by a big music label.

Given all her activities, Ms Mudgal seems to manage her time well. She performs all over India and travelling is an inseparable aspect of her career. Add to this film assignments, promoting awareness about copyright laws to members of the music fraternity and other recordings, and you have a really hectic schedule. “But I make sure I get adequate time between concerts,” she says.

The films she has sung for recently are s, Chandni Bar, Yeh Mohabbat Hai and Deham. “I try my best to give different aspects of my voice to my songs. Of course, it is the composer’s call. But even a composer gets to know your voice only after several assignments, sessions and meetings,” she explains. “But so many of them are afraid to experiment. They are used to hearing you sing loud, fiery songs and wonder whether audiences would like to hear you sing a soft number! So the audience rarely gets to see beyond the stereotype.”

Does she ever wish her voice was not as “powerful and open-throated”? “It’s no use thinking about that,” she replies. Are there things she must watch out for when she sings? “When you are a classical singer, and have the kind of voice I do you need to keep it fit. Otherwise you can sound harsh on the microphone. I have had to learn microphone techniques!”

And even though she can sing softly, she puts across the point very firmly: “It’s not like I can’t sing softly! Even when we speak, we aren’t shouting all the time! Most of the time, we talk softly!”