The king of melody, singer Kumar Sanu says remixes are an opportunity for him to learn new styles of singing too, while giving him a chance to see how the industry functions today
Nikita Deb (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 17, 2019)

Melody King of the ’90s, Kumar Sanu, became a household name after churning out innumerable hits throughout the decade. And now, years later, the singer has still not lost touch with his fans. He has always tried to do something new and even sang a verse in the remixed version of his superhit song, Aankh Maarey from Tere Mere Sapne (1996) in the 2018 hit, Simmba.

And now, in an attempt to try something new, Sanu has collaborated with “new-age” composers Meet Bros for a romantic single called Ishq Saaf. Sanu says it was a “great experience” to collaborate with the musical duo. “They are a very easy team to work with and most importantly, to sing a song with the new-age composers was a wonderful experience. I chose this song because I really liked the tune. Meet Bros had come to me with a few songs and asked me to choose one and requested me to sing it as well. So, I chose this song because it had melody in it. I also loved the lyrics, as it was a very lyrically powerful song,” he says.

With the trend of remaking old songs gaining momentum in the industry, Sanu, unlike a lot of his contemporaries, seems to be completely on board with the trend. “I think its a very good thing that my old songs are being remade. At least, that way, the new generation gets to know about those old gems. They also get to know about the people who were behind those songs. So, this is definitely a plus for all of us [yesteryear singers]. I just want to say that when such remakes are made, the lyrics and tune should not be changed. They can very well change the arrangement of those songs to suit the tastes of today’s generation, and also add stuff to make the songs sound better. The biggest positive of this trend is that people who didn’t know about the original singers and musicians of those tracks, are now aware of them. So, I completely agree with the trend of remakes,” says the singer, whose songs such as Aankh Marey (Tere Mere Sapne; 1996), Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To (1942: A Love Story), have been successfully remade.

Ask him if he would ever sing a remake and he says, “Why not? I find myself completely involved and in sync with this new trend of remakes. Making them or being part of them also gives us an opportunity to understand how things work in today’s industry, and how musicians function nowadays. I am also learning a new style of singing through these remakes, so that’s a very good thing for me.”

Sanu had given superhits such as Tere Dar Pe Sanam Hum Chale Aaye (Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee; 1993), Chura Ke Dil Mera (Main Khiladi Tu Anari; 1994) and Tujhe Dekha To (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge; 1995), among several others, back in the day, says that a lot has changed in the Bollywood music scene now, when compared to the ’90s. “There was a lot of melody used in songs those days. Even today, there are melodious songs being made, but at that time, the number of such songs were definitely more. That’s the reason why we [singers from the ’90s] get so many opportunities to do live concerts because people all over the world want to listen to those songs. But change is necessary and I am absolutely on board with these changes. However, I feel that if our songs today, are not powerful in terms of lyrics, their shelf lives become really small. So, we definitely need to pay more attention to what kind of lyrics we are writing today, because if the words of a song are bad, it affects the society. This is something that needs to be given a lot of thought,” says Sanu.

The singer also believes that today’s generation “really loves all the old songs”. “In all my live shows, I notice that the crowd is filled with people between the age groups of 18 to 30. They enjoy listening to those songs and some of their requests even leave me dumbfounded. So, I think the lack of melody which we saw in the last few years is being bridged again. This generation loves melody,” says Sanu.

Kumar Sanu on his daughters Shannon K and Anna
My daughters are extremely talented and are doing very well in the Western music industry. Whatever they are doing, they are doing on their own without the help of anyone else or me because nobody knows me in Hollywood. I have collaborated with them on one song and if I ever get the chance to do so again in the future, I will definitely do it. As far as their Bollywood careers are concerned, they are old enough now to make their own decisions. If they want to sing some songs here in Bollywood, they should do it. I will never have any objection to it. They are grown up now and if they want to sing in Bollywood I will be more than happy. There is nothing wrong in that.