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Home / Entertainment / Bollywood News / Photos / Women`s Day Exclusive! Kavita Krishnamurti: I cannot sing like Alka Yagnik

Women`s Day Exclusive! Kavita Krishnamurti: I cannot sing like Alka Yagnik

Updated On: 08 March, 2023 12:08 PM IST | Natasha Coutinho D`Souza

Legendary singer and Padma Shri awardee Kavita Krishnamurti joins mid-day.com`s Women`s Day celebrations. She speaks about how she was comfortable sharing the stage with other legends of her time- Alka Yagnik or Anuradha Paudwal even if other people saw them as competition. 

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Legendary singer and Padma Shri awardee Kavita Krishnamurti joins mid-day.com`s Women`s Day celebrations. She speaks about how she was comfortable sharing the stage with other legends of her time- Alka Yagnik or Anuradha Paudwal even if other people saw them as competition. 

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Legendary singer and Padma Shri awardee Kavita Krishnamurti joins mid-day.com`s Women`s Day celebrations. She speaks about how she was comfortable sharing the stage with other legends of her time- Alka Yagnik or Anuradha Paudwal even if other people saw them as competition. 

Speaking about competition with other leading women singers of her time, Krishnamurti said, "One of the most memorable songs that I did with two ladies, was Anuradha, Alka and myself `Thare Vaste Re Dhola.` from `Batwara.` Anuradhji had a different antra, so did I and Alka had a more folkish antra. It was a Laxmikant-Pyarelal composition for JP Dutta`s film. There were 3 mics and all of us sang live. I enjoyed the fellow feeling we had, each one of us were in that single studio, in one corner trying to learn our lines, till the take was announced."

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Speaking about competition with other leading women singers of her time, Krishnamurti said, "One of the most memorable songs that I did with two ladies, was Anuradha, Alka and myself `Thare Vaste Re Dhola.` from `Batwara.` Anuradhji had a different antra, so did I and Alka had a more folkish antra. It was a Laxmikant-Pyarelal composition for JP Dutta`s film. There were 3 mics and all of us sang live. I enjoyed the fellow feeling we had, each one of us were in that single studio, in one corner trying to learn our lines, till the take was announced."

When quizzed about pay parity in the music industry she said, "I`m sure Kumar Sanu got more than us, he was a superstar in the 90s. He got double my payment but it never worried me because I never had to buy a Gucci or Mercedes. I never bothered about whether Anuradha or Alka got paid more than me, they may be richer than me but I am happy as I am."

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When quizzed about pay parity in the music industry she said, "I`m sure Kumar Sanu got more than us, he was a superstar in the 90s. He got double my payment but it never worried me because I never had to buy a Gucci or Mercedes. I never bothered about whether Anuradha or Alka got paid more than me, they may be richer than me but I am happy as I am."

Sharing an interesting anecdote from the iconic `Hawa Hawai` she said, "It was not originally supposed to be my song, Ashaji (Bhosle) was supposed to sing it, I used to dub songs back then and very few were retained. I was told it`s a big film featuring Sridevi and Javed saab (Akhtar) was writing lyrics, Ashaji would sing the song but I would do it for the shooting so I came in with that attitude. The recording went on till 10 or 10.30 at night because there were about 100 musicians, 40 chorus singers and a lot of coordination had to be done. I had a lot of fun and some months later I got a call from Laxmiji (of Laxmikant-Pyarelal) saying he had good news that everyone had decided I sung the song well and it suited Sridevi a lot." The singer said that while she was delighted to receive the news she remembered that she had made a mistake which she thought would be corrected when Ashaji records the song. "Instead of saying `jaanu jo tumne baat chupayi` I had said `jeenu jo tumne baat chupayi."

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Sharing an interesting anecdote from the iconic `Hawa Hawai` she said, "It was not originally supposed to be my song, Ashaji (Bhosle) was supposed to sing it, I used to dub songs back then and very few were retained. I was told it`s a big film featuring Sridevi and Javed saab (Akhtar) was writing lyrics, Ashaji would sing the song but I would do it for the shooting so I came in with that attitude. The recording went on till 10 or 10.30 at night because there were about 100 musicians, 40 chorus singers and a lot of coordination had to be done. I had a lot of fun and some months later I got a call from Laxmiji (of Laxmikant-Pyarelal) saying he had good news that everyone had decided I sung the song well and it suited Sridevi a lot." The singer said that while she was delighted to receive the news she remembered that she had made a mistake which she thought would be corrected when Ashaji records the song. "Instead of saying `jaanu jo tumne baat chupayi` I had said `jeenu jo tumne baat chupayi."

Sharing her journey as a newcomer in the industry Krishnamurti recalled, "I was born and brought up in Delhi but I had a Bengali aunt who was very passionate about music. She saw me winning a few prizes and she was convinced I had a voice that fits playback. She brought me to Bombay and was ready to struggle. I was young and not sure of what I wanted to do in life because my father was a government servant in the ministry of education so I thought I will be in the Indian foreign services or a civil services. I don`t come from a musical background but she was convinced I could do it. Her point of contact was Hema Malini`s mother Mrs Jaya Chakravarthy who was a friend."

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Sharing her journey as a newcomer in the industry Krishnamurti recalled, "I was born and brought up in Delhi but I had a Bengali aunt who was very passionate about music. She saw me winning a few prizes and she was convinced I had a voice that fits playback. She brought me to Bombay and was ready to struggle. I was young and not sure of what I wanted to do in life because my father was a government servant in the ministry of education so I thought I will be in the Indian foreign services or a civil services. I don`t come from a musical background but she was convinced I could do it. Her point of contact was Hema Malini`s mother Mrs Jaya Chakravarthy who was a friend."

The legendary singer signed off with a special performance on `Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.` Here`s wishing all of you a happy women`s day.

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The legendary singer signed off with a special performance on `Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.` Here`s wishing all of you a happy women`s day.

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