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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. 

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. 
<p>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."</p>

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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."

<p>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."</p>

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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."

<p>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."</p>

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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."

<p>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."</p>

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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."

<p>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.</p>

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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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