On August 21, the Maharashtra State Film Awards were held in Mumbai. Veteran singer Sudesh Bhosale was one of the awardees and before the event, he spoke exclusively with Bollywood Hungama about this honour, his journey and a lot more. The interview was memorable as the singer flawlessly imitated Amitabh Bachchan and even Lata Mangeshkar.
EXCLUSIVE: Sudesh Bhosale talks about winning Maharashtra State Film Award; reveals why he doesn’t sing as often: “Main agar Hrithik Roshan ke liye gaau, toh ajeeb lagega na?”; CONFIRMS that he dubbed for Anil Kapoor for some scenes in Tezaab
How does it feel to win the Maharashtra State Film Award?
In any profession, if one gets appreciation and an award, that too from the government, it’s naturally a huge thing. For an artist, it’s a big motivation and inspires him/her to work harder. I was sitting in my studio when I got a call, informing me of the award. I was elated as soon as I heard about it. I also missed my parents; they would have been happier than me. I learned a lot from Kishore da (Kishore Kumar), Lata ji (Lata Mangeshkar), Asha ji (Asha Bhosle), Bachchan saab (Amitabh Bachchan), etc. in the 80s. Thanks to their blessings, I did innumerable music shows. I remembered them and my other gurus when I won the award. I also hope to meet the jury members who selected me. Unko haath jod ke dhanyawaad karunga!
Do you recall past instances of winning awards and how you reacted then?
Firstly, I haven’t got many awards. Bahut kam awards mile hai (laughs). A recognition I remember was winning the Kishore Kumar Award in Indore. I was also awarded with the Mother Teresa Millennium Award in Kolkata. I was even given a Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Such instances, however, are few and far between.
However, I got a lot of love and blessings from Kishore da. Lata ji once said, ‘Bhosale mere saath hota hai toh mujhe kisi male singer ki zaroorat nahin padti’. This was like winning an award (smiles). Asha ji has also spoken highly of me. Once I sang Sachin da’s (S D Burman) song ‘Sun Mere Bandhu Re’. Mehmood saab was seated among the audience. He came backstage, touched my cheeks and said, ‘Beta, jab tune Sachin da ka suur lagaya, main tera chehra dekh raha tha. Tera upar waale ke saath connection ho gaya hai’. These are legends and their praises were akin to awards.
Nevertheless, whenever I have won awards, I have always felt good and humble.
You have posted a lot of images and videos of you performing, on your Instagram handle. Do you love performing live as it gives you instant audience feedback?
I have been performing on stage for 45 years. I have lost count of how many shows I have done. I was counting until I did 2000-3000 shows but then I stopped. There was a time in the 80s when there was only radio, plays and cinema for entertainment. Orchestras filled the gap and provided mass entertainment to people. This is when I entered the music arena. I worked with Kishore da for his stage shows for 5 years from 1982 to 1987. I was the anchor and used to also sing Rafi saab’s songs. Later, I graduated to sing songs with Kishore da.
If you meet me personally, you’ll say I am a very boring man! But when you see me on stage, you’ll never imagine that yeh shaant, chup chaap baithne waala aadmi aisa bhi ho sakta hai. People love me in that avatar and I am also happy when I am on stage. My wife and my children scold me. They say, ‘Kitna naachoge?’! I tell them, ‘I’ll leave everything lekin mera stage shows bandh mat karo’. I also sing in different voices. In the circus, you’ll be entertained seeing the lion, cheetah, bear, etc. But when the joker enters, people say ‘Haan, ab kuch hoga’! Similarly, my show attendees also remark, ‘Sudesh Bhosale aa gaya. Ab mazaa aane waala hai’! I entertain people and I love it. And as you rightly said, you get an instant reaction.
Your bond with Amitabh Bachchan is legendary…
After singing ‘Jhumma Chumma’, Amit ji used to ask me to accompany him on his shows. A lot of old videos are available. The moment the song is played, he’ll ask me to mouth the dialogue from the film. He would be singing and I’d also be singing at the same time in his voice, creating a ‘double track’ effect. I would say ‘Main aur meri tanhaayi aksar yeh baatein karte hai’ (says it in flawless Amitabh Bachchan style), the crowd of 25,000 would go berserk! Lata ji, who would be present, would say ‘Waah, kya baat hai’ (says in Lata ji’s voice).
There’s another incident when I sang ‘Doli Mein Bithai Ke’, a song from Amar Prem (1972). I realized that Asha ji had covered her face with her hands. When the song was over, she kept her hands down. I saw she was in tears. She told me, ‘Aisa laga ki Sachin da mere paas khade hai’.
These moments hold a special place in my heart. Whenever I am feeling low, I remember them. I listen to their songs throughout the day.
You also did shows with Amitabh Bachchan. You recently posted about it…
Woh kaafi acchi yaadein hai. After Jhumma Chumma, he went on to do many world tours. Anil Kapoor saab, Sridevi ji, Anupam Kher ji, etc. were also a part of it. He also sings well and his songs are a hit. Yet, he makes me sing the songs. People die to see Amitabh Bachchan and that man knows Sudesh Bhosale. Nothing can be bigger than that! Whenever I message him, he replies to me within 24 hours. Aur kya chahiye? Yeh bhi toh award hai na (smiles)?
You haven’t sung for Amitabh Bachchan in a long time. Can we expect a collaboration in future?
Yes, why not? I, in fact, dub for him for his ad films. He’ll be shooting for a brand in September. He’ll dub for it himself in Hindi. I’ll dub for him in various languages like Odia, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, etc. When he finds out that I’ll be dubbing for him, he would say ‘Sudesh kar raha hai toh theek hai’. He knows that I have never misused his voice.
Amitabh Bachchan went to court and got an order restraining anyone from using his voice without authorization…
Yes, that’s because somebody dubbed in his voice while promoting an alcohol or tobacco product. And Bachchan saab was justified in doing so. Gullible people might assume that he has endorsed the product.
It was a surprise to hear your voice in a song in Shamshera (2022). Why do you sing so few songs?
Earlier, actors would debut when they were in their early 30s. Now, the heroes are 15 when they debut. And my voice won’t suit them. And the thought is that if an actor is young, the singer should also be of his age. Anyway, main agar Hrithik Roshan ke liye gaau, toh bada ajeeb lagega na?
Also, there’s a difference in singing and playback singing. I could modulate as per the requirement. The way I sang ‘Jumma Chumma’, ‘Say Shava Shava’ ‘Sona ‘Sona’ or ‘Meri Makhna Meri Soniye’ were all different from each other. I can sing for characters and I continue singing. I have a studio in Goregaon. I also sang ‘Mard Maratha’ from Bajirao Mastani (2015). 2 days ago, I sang for an upcoming Rajpal Yadav film.
I also did dubbing at a time when people didn’t know about it. I dubbed for Sanjeev Kumar in 5 films after he passed away. A lot of people don’t know that I dubbed for Anil Kapoor as well in some scenes in Tezaab (1988).
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