Jayachandran hits back at critics of ’outsider’ Shreya
They are one of the most succesful singer-composer pairs in Mollywood. A song is said to be a sure hit, if it’s sung by Shreya Ghoshal and the music is composed by M. Jayachandran. They are also the most controversial of the lot with several young play-back singers hitting out against Jayachandran for being obsessive with Shreya’s voice and ignoring local talent.
The bitterness over their association is so strong that some singers even do not talk to him. “Few days ago, the moment a singer saw me she turned her chair and sat away from me. It’s very hard to deal with their attitude. Senior singers are practical and they don’t have any problem,” he says. According to Jayachandran artistes like Chithra chechi and Sujatha chechi often calls and appreciates him, when they hear a good song by Shreya. “I don’t know why these young singers are disappointed with me when I am not the one who even introduced Shreya to Malayalam cinema,” says Jayachandran.
In an exclusive conversation with Malayala Manorama, Jayachandran opens his mind on the truth behind these allegations and his association with Shreya.
Did you ever spend money from your pocket to make Shreya sing?
The only time I paid out of my pocket was when I wanted a specific singer for one of my song, which the producer did not allow. There are some allegations that I paid out of my pocket to Shreya in the movie “Chattakari”. It was producer G Sureshkumar who paid her.
Those who are trying to crucify me in the name of Shreya should understand one thing. She has sung only nine songs composed by me. All of them were hits and this is why people think she has lot of songs. Its because of her talent that these songs become a hit. The song “nilave… nilave..” from the movie “Chattakari” was heard by more than two lakh people in Youtube. The only movies I made her sing was “Banares”, “Rathinirvedam”,”Pranayam”, “Mannikyakallu” and “Chattakari”.
I have introduced many singers to Malayalam cinema. Its Shreya’s attitude towards work and her dedication that makes many of us choose her. Some of the young singers lack this. If you consider these qualities, there is no one who is in the same level as that of Shreya. Manjari and Shweta are two singers who come real close.
Shreya’s voice suits most of my songs. Its just like the way Yesudas used to sing for Raveendran. I am not going to stop selecting Shreya for my songs just because others are unhappy.
Don’t you think that Shreya is a bit pricey?
Yeah, Shreya does not come cheap. The recordings are done in Mumbai, which is expensive. But the production companies like her voice. They are ready to spend money as her voice has got a good market value. The song “Jab deep jale” from 1971 movie “Chit Chor” became a super-hit when music director Ravindra Jain chose Yesudas. For the song and he had to go to Mumbai for recording.
Yesudas had the capability and that was why he was invited. Just like that, Shreya has got the capability and that is why we invited her. Music industry does not have any boundaries. For someone who doesn’t know Malayalam, Shreya’s pronunciation skills are a wonder. She copies the lyrics in Hindi and Bengali along with the meaning of each word and pronounciation. She will learn it in two hours. But when it comes to the tune she will learn it in 15 minutes.
July 11, 2012 16:25 hrs IST english.manoramaonline.com
