I always believe....that a good singer is one who can mould its voice into different genre of emotions which should be unique and distinctive.....and... the one lady which strikes my mind for her soulful , melodious vocal chords is ’’SHUBHA MUDGAL’’.
Ladies and Gentlemen.....Welcome to the world of Shubha Mudgal arena.
For your knowledge , Shubha Mudgal grew up in Allahabad, India and initially dabbled with Kathak dance before taking Talim of classical music at the age of 16 at the insistence of her mother who exposed her to all kinds of music. She had always that passion for Hindustani classical music.
Shubha Mudgal has done all kind of singing , whether it is Hindustani classical or sufi music or indi pop music , she has gained accolades and applauses in all respective elements of music.
She has given new meaning to urban folk music.
Her preference for classical music is like one’s association with mother tongue. But at the same time she always wanted to sing in a different dialect because as a student of voice and music, she always has love for all kinds of music.
I still remember , way back in the early 90’s when ’’Ali More Angana’’ song became a big hit or rather what I call it a foot stomping number.. It became a chart-buster overnight and shot her to instant stardom.
In this song , she has shown her perpetual vocal magic in this sufi genre song.Even today , this song is heard by youth and adults , for its folkish and enigmatic spectrum.
Her memorable ’Ab Ke Sawan’album was the big magnum opus in Indi Pop arena.
Take my words, In this album , you will definitely feel that her rich and metallic voice has the robust earthiness of a gypsy.
She herself featured in the song video of ’Ab Ke Sawan’.With her chubby visage and child-like face in Ab Ke Sawan, Mudgal comes across not as the anti thesis but as a pleasant complement to the svelte wannabes gyrating in music videos. Her starring in the album worked wonders.Supporting her trademark tika-bindi, the pop saint of the swaras is out to prove her taste for classicism is still alive.
She again made her presence felt with ’’Mann Ke Manjeree’’-- an album dedicated to new age woman and her aspirations. The album is a platform that highlights the unexplored talent of folk singers like Rukmabai and Diwaliben.It hits you back to the sounds of ancient India in a modern language. A familiar song, ’Man ke manjeere’ on a music channel on television has Mita Vashisht lip-syncing and driving a truck.
The song is sung by Shubha Mudgal and has its origin from a true life story of a young woman from Ahmedabad called Shameem Pathan, who, fed up with the torture she received at her husband’s hands leaves her husband and goes in search of a better life with her little son.
Outside India, ’Man ke Manjeere’ has been used for reaching strong social messages against violence, atrocities on women, etc.
This shows that Shubha Mudgal is also a good human being.
....And who can forget the album ’’Pyaar Ke Geet’’ , where Malaika Arora and Arbaaz Khan also starred in one of the album songs titled’’Dholna’’ and ’’Pyaar Ke Geet’’.In this album , she has explored all genres of happiness , love and faith.
Then , there’s ’’Nachoon Sari Sari Raat’’ album which is one of varied moods. One of the songs is fiery while the other one is whispery. Not all songs are full-throated renditions. The album has a definite rajasthani feel to it with also a bit of pop-rock influence.
There have been many high points in her career.
A couple of years ago she teamed up with singer Shantanu for a charity song Amitasha for the girl child. Earlier she did the Vandematram recording to commemorate 50 years of independence with Lata Mangeshkar. She also gave the musical score in Mira Nair’s Kamasutra. Apart from that , there have been hundreds of performances in India and abroad and four albums. Kisson Ki Chadar album which was phenomenal musical hit.
She once tried jazz which deserved loads of accolades. She once also tried love for devotional poetry like bhajans which her fans accepted and gave her round of applause.
Shubha was, however, heard in even movies.The special ones are Aks, Chandni Bar and Govind Nihalni’s Deham rendering alaap , Raincoat , Phir Milenge and Hazaaron Khwaaishen Aisi.I liked her voice in Raincoat.The song was ’Mathura Mathura’...remember.Especially , Phir Milenge and Raincoat are my favourites because of Shubha’s phenomenal unique vocal presence.
This woman has travelled many musical shores and still continues to do so.Being a successful pop classicist She has created a classical aura around her and that’s what I like about this woman.
That’s it friends , thanx for reading, do post your views and let me know how did you like it.
Cheers
Take Care
Bye
SAURAV