Chhaayaageet #80 - "You are not ready to sing for Madhuri yet."
A song recording is in session but the proceedings are halted. What is the issue, you ask? Money, what else? The singer is not ready to move forward with the recording unless she is paid first.
The filmmaker's assistants plead with her. "Madam, cash is a little tight. Please defer payment for a few days."
"Paisa nahin to gaana nahin", she tells them curtly. Art is business, after all.
Cash is somehow arranged from somewhere. The recording proceeds and the song is recorded.
But the filmmaker decides, she is out of his orbit. She won't be singing in his next film. He will have to find a new voice.
One day, the filmmaker gets a call from his mother. She is watching a music talent program on TV. She asks him to turn the TV on and listen to this young girl. How she sings! He flips the TV on. Goodness, gracious! What a beautiful voice! In the same mould as the nightingale herself. He makes a mental note.
The next film is now ready to go on the floors. The story, script and screenplay are finalized. The casting is complete. The music and songs need to be recorded. The filmmaker suddenly remembers the young girl whom he had watched on TV. Hers is precisely the voice he needs for the character of the leading lady. Just the perfect blend of sweetness and innocence. What was her name? Damn, should have written it down.
He makes a few phone calls to the producers of the TV program and tracks her down. He calls her home.
The young girl is summoned to the phone. The filmmaker of one of the biggest hits of the year is asking for her? She is speechless. And he is so polite and humble! Is this one of those moments, life-changing or whatever they call it?
"Would you like to audition for playback for my film?", he asks.
Who would she be singing for? For a young girl not even out of school, she knows what to ask.
"You are not ready to sing for Madhuri yet", he tells her. But he has her voice in mind for the other heroine in the film.
The audition is a mere formality, but important part of the process. The music composer is also mighty impressed with her voice. She will be singing four or five songs in this film, they tell her. Her joy knows no bounds.
But school exams are afoot. She carries her books and homework to rehearsals so she can study between breaks.
March 9, 2000, the day of the recording of her first song. She is a bundle of nerves. The cast, crew, musicians everyone is supportive. But, this is it. Time for talent to meet the moment.
"We will rehearse once before we do the final recording", the filmmaker tells her.
It is a duet she is going to sing with a senior male artiste. He encourages her. "You have the talent and luck, nothing can stop you. Just give it your best", he tells her.
Little does she know that the filmmaker intends to record it in the first take. She steps into the recording room and closes her eyes. She imagines the leading lady on whom the song will be filmed. She imagines the character, her pain, her confidence, and her innocence. And as the music starts, she just lets it all flow.
As the song concludes, she opens her eyes. There is commotion and a bit of chaos outside the recording room. What happened? Did she mess up? She feels hesitant to step outside and meet the world.
To her delight and relief, she finds out everyone is just beyond excited for how well she has just sung the number.
Shreya Ghoshal was 16 when she recorded Bairi piya for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus Devdas (2002), music by Ismail Darbar and lyrics by Nusrat Badr, and the male playback by Udit Narayan. Shreya won a trifecta of awards for her debut film - Filmfare for Best Playback - Female co-shared with Kavita Krishnamurthy for Dola re dola, National Award for Bairi piya, and RD Burman Award for Best New Musical Talent.
She was spotted on the talent show SaReGaMaPa by Bhansali's mother. When Shreya had submitted her tape to the show for audition, the judges Kalyanji Anandji were mighty impressed with her. They decided to take her under their wing, and impressed upon Shreya's father to move to Mumbai from Kota, Rajasthan.
Around this time, Sanjay Leela Bhansali was looking for a new voice, after having soured on Alka Yagnik during the recording of the song Chand chupa badal mein in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. He had Alka Yagnik sing only one song in that film, and Kavita Krishnamurthy sing the rest. With the find of Shreya Ghoshal, he introduced a fresh new voice to the film industry. This and all other songs sung for Aishwarya Rai catapulted Shreya Ghoshal to become one of the leading playback singers in Bollywood.
Below is a clip of Shreya Ghoshal singing this song live in a concert in London.
Singer: Shreya Ghoshal, Udit Narayan
Music: Ismail Darbar
Lyrics: Nusrat Badr
*ing: Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Film: Devdas (2002)