Exclusive | Kumar Sanu: I was a tabla player, never thought of becoming a singer

For most of us 90s kids Kumar Sanus melodious voice has been an integral part of our lives We cannot imagine Hindi films without his romantic songs like Nazar Ke Saamne Aashiqui Tujhe Dekha Toh Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain Pardes This World Music Day we sit down with the legend to revisit his journey from a young tabla player in Kolkata to the Melody King of BollywoodExcerpts from a conversationLetrsquos go back in time a bit how did the boy in Kolkata become this big musical superstar in Hindi cinema Your father was a composer did you always want to be a singerMy aim was not to be a singer even though I grew up in a musical environment in Kolkata I used to play the tabla and hum a few lines sometimes I was forced to sing at a show in Naihati My target was to be a tabla player but when I saw the public is loving my singing then my goal changed to that of becoming a singerHow did the journey happen from Kolkata to Mumbai Kedarnath Bhattacharya to Kumar SanuI used to record my song on cassettes and give them to music directors in Kolkata Some of them did not believe it was my voice I used to save up money and buy those TDK90 cassettes they were not cheap I used to record one or two songs in those cassettes and give them to the music directors and they would just keep them I wouldnrsquot get them back Some said Kishore Kumar is alive how do we make you singI realized I wasnrsquot going to make headway in Kolkata therersquos very little scope in West Bengal Therersquos a lot of insecurity and music directors do not have the confidence to try out a new singer So I thought of going to Mumbai and trying there I used to sing in hotels so I had the confidence that Irsquod find a job in a hotel in Mumbai I got a job at a restaurant called Amber in Churchgate in Mumbai I used to make demo cassettes with the money I earned and give them to music directors in MumbaiWho was the first director who spotted the talent in youObviously Jagjit Singh ji I was making a demo cassette and he saw me there and spoke to me He was the one who made me record my first song He introduced me to Kalyanji bhai In the meantime I was singing cover versions of Kishore Kumarrsquos songs for Gulshan Kumar I was taking up whatever I could get I just needed to keep singing They used to send me to Delhi to sing covers of Kishore Kumarrsquos songs And when Kalyanji bhai made me sing in a film there was no turning back for meThat was the turning pointYou can say that was the breakpoint Chance by Jagjit Singh break by KalyanjiAnand ji and smash hit by Gulshan KumarComing from Kolkata being a Bengali singer was that a disadvantageIt was definitely a disadvantage I had to face difficulties because of it But I solved the lyrical problem in singing by learning Urdu pronunciations from a Maulvi I took training for 6 months If you hear me sing in Urdu you cannot tell I am a BengaliKishore Kumar has been a big influence on youhellipYes people say my voice is similar to his I donrsquot think I am even close to what he was My first choice to sing used to be his songs TSeries solidified that with their Kishore Ki Yaadein cassette series It went up to 45 volumes While singing those songs I captured a lot of his nuances ndash style of singing throw of words acting in the song ndash I adopted all that I implemented all that from Aashiqui onwards But I never imitated his voice From Aashiqui onwards I tried to create my own identityWatch the full interview here