BOMBAY TIMES (June 25, 2020)

Sushant Singh Rajput’s untimely death by suicide has shaken up Bollywood and resulted in a lot of issues and grudges – that were simmering for a while – surfacing in the public domain. Over the last week, the biggest topic of debate in the entertainment industry has been the alleged powerplay in the Bollywood music space and how it is supposedly controlled by a few music labels. It all started when Sonu Nigam, in a vlog, said, “I want to request everyone and especially our music companies to be kind because today an actor – Sushant Sigh Rajput – has passed away, tomorrow you can hear the same about a singer or a composer or a lyrics writer because unfortunately there is an even bigger mafia in the music industry than in the film industry.”

He further added that young and struggling musicians are distressed because “the composer would want to work with them, the producer and director would want to work with them but the music company would say ‘no, this is not our artist’. This is not right that the power is in the hands of two music companies only.” He also made the charge that “Even directors and producers are not happy because they are not being allowed to make the music that they wish to.”

The video sparked a debate with charges and counter-charges flying. Later, in a second video, after a few names from the industry spoke to the media and contradicted these charges, Sonu named T-Series’ Bhushan Kumar and alleged that Bhushan was trying to forcefully counter his views by getting other singers to speak against him. Soon after, Bhushan’s director-actor wife Divya Khosla Kumar called Sonu “thankless” in a post and accused him of selling “lies and deceits.” T-Series is by far the biggest player in the Hindi film music industry, with an estimated 50% market share. —TNN
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‘THIS INJUSTICE HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A WHILE. MUSICIANS GET DUMPED FROM FILMS IF THEY ARE NOT PART OF A LABEL’S ROSTER’

Several veterans of the music industry came out in Sonu’s support after he posted the videos. While Alka Yagnik just said “Yes, it’s true I am with Sonu on this... and most of us senior singers are too,” and chose not to elaborate further on this, others shared their experience of having dealt with this “injustice.”

BHUSHAN KUMAR COMPLETELY SCRAPPED THE MUSIC WE HAD COMPOSED FOR A FILM: SALIM MERCHANT

Salim Merchant, one half of the composer duo Salim-Sulaiman, says, “Usually, big labels do not interfere with the music or the composers; once in a while, they may tell us to include a song from their bank in a film. But T-Series says, ‘Salim-Sulaiman ko hi nikal do. We will get our own composers and singers’. Unless the film’s producer is an A-lister or somebody in the same league, Bhushan Kumar makes all the decisions. There are many who have gone through this. Sonu Nigam is absolutely right, this has been going on for a while now – this injustice against creative people, including singers, who get dumped because they are not part of the roster of his label.”

CREATIVITY CONTROLLED BY THOSE WHO HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT CREATIVITY: ADNAN SAMI

Sharing his thoughts online, Adnan Sami wrote, “The Indian film and music industry needs a shake up. Especially in the context of music, new singers, veteran singers, music composers and music producers – who are being exploited to the hilt. Why is creativity being controlled by those who have no clue about creativity and are trying to play God? Is all that we have to offer is remakes and remixes? Stop this and allow the truly talented new and veteran artistes to breathe.”

TODAY, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CAN’T SING AT ALL, BUT THEY ARE THE ONES IN THE LIMELIGHT: MADHUSHREE

Madhushree, who has often given her voice to A R Rahman’s projects and songs like Kabhi Neem Neem, Tu Bin Bataaye and In Lamhon Ke Daaman Mein,says, “Nepotism and music mafia have always been there. But earlier, there were really good singers, too. Today, there are people who can’t sing at all, but they are the ones in the limelight.” The singer says that she has had to face a lot of discrimination in the Bollywood music industry throughout her career and “all kind of tricks were used to ensure that my voice does not reach the public.” “But I am very grateful to A R Rahman ji who gave me so many superhit songs,” she shares.

A FIRST-TIME DIRECTOR IS ARM-TWISTED WHEN IT COMES TO CREATIVE DECISIONS ABOUT THE MUSIC OF HIS FILM: CLINTON CEREJO

Clinton Cerejo, who has composed for films like Kahaani and Badla, apart from other non-film work, says, “If I’ve spent two years working with the director and creating songs and a score that are cohesive, and two weeks before the release the label suddenly decides that they are going to use one of their own artiste’s songs as a ‘promotional song’ and that artist becomes the face of the film in the eyes of the public, it’s not fair to me. This happened to me on multiple occasions and it used to bother me. I decided to just move on and focus on my own journey as an artiste.”

Cerejo adds, “If a director is senior, he cannot be arm-twisted beyond a point, but a first-time director will often be completely disregarded when it comes to making creative decisions about the music of his own film. That’s one of the reasons why there’s very few current songs in Bollywood that will stand the test of time.”
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‘THE MUSIC INDUSTRY DOES NOT FUNCTION THE WAY BOLLYWOOD FUNCTIONS. IT’S A DIFFERENT ANIMAL, NO OUTSIDER BIAS’

Some, like singers Shilpa Rao, Jubin Nautiyal, Amaal Mallik, composer Rochak Kohli, lyricist Manoj Muntashir and singer-composer Sachet Tandon didn’t agree with Sonu’s claims of the music industry being biased and favouring insiders.

THERE IS NO OUTSIDER BIAS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. WHAT YOU GET IS TOTALLY BECAUSE OF YOUR WORK: SHILPA RAO

Shilpa Rao, the voice behind Bulleya and Ghungroo, among others, says, “The music industry does not function the way Bollywood functions. It is a different animal. I feel there is no outsider bias in the music industry. What you get is totally because of your work. I have been here since 2007 and in this industry, it is about how you sound and what you bring to a song. There are people giving songs to absolute newcomers too. Experimenting with newer voices is not a problem here.”

TODAY, ONLY GOOD CONTENT MATTERS: JUBIN NAUTIYAL

Singer Jubin Nautiyal said to a channel, “Today, it’s more content-driven. Even a small song from anywhere can turn out to be a huge hit. Nepotism can be one of the factors that affected the industry in the past, but today, what matters is good content, talented artists and good sound. That’s what every music label or producer is looking for.”

IT WASN’T EASY FOR ME OR MY BROTHER ARMAAN BECAUSE OF OUR SURNAME: AMAAL MALLIK

Talking about nepotism, Amaal Mallik, who comes from a family of musicians, had said, “A lot of people have the notion that it must have been easier for me because I had the Mallik tag. But I don’t feel it’s right. I agree I have an advantage. I know how things work. I have seen the failures of my family members so I know and that’s the only difference. I have been doing this since the age of 19 but I got my first film at 24.” Speaking about his first film, he added, “I miserably failed in that film and that song didn’t work despite being on such a huge scale. For one year, I had no work. I don’t think anyone repeated me, just like it’s with other newcomers. It’s not happened overnight for me and my brother. Maybe, it’s even a bit tougher for people who have a name.”

THE MUSIC INDUSTRY HAS A VERY PROGRESSIVE PROCESS: ROCHAK KOHLI

Music director Rochak Kohli added, “When I approach a singer for a song, I always tell them that I want to try you for this song. And we will try our best to keep your voice in the song because things change. It's not just for new singers. I also tell the same to people like Arijit (Singh), or Jubin (Nautiyal) and Sachet (Tandon). Everyone understands. Singers come up to me and tell me they want to sing maximum scratches. The singer also gets his taiyaari and his voice also reaches out to a lot of people. It’s indeed a very progressive process.”