South music embraced tech while staying rooted

Mumbai-based singer Nakash Aziz, who shot to fame with the songs “Saree Ke Fall Sa” from ‘R…Rajkumar’ and “Jabra Fan” from ‘Fan’ has recently rendered his voice to Megastar Chiranjeevi for his song “Raththalu” from ‘Khaidi No 150’

When Nakash Aziz came to Hyderabad in 2009 (to record his debut number (“Vande Maataram”), he met Chiranjeevi at a film event. But the singer never thought that he would playback for the megastar eight years later.

“I never thought I would pursue singing as a career; to playback for actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Chiranjeevi, is like living a dream.

I met Chiranjeevi and shook hands (I don’t think he even noticed because there were several people around) and now lending voice for his song “Raththalu” (from ‘Khaidi No 150’) is a blessing. I’m very happy that the peppy track has become an instant chartbuster,” Nakash exults.

If “Tauba Tauba” (from ‘Sardaar Gabbar Singh’) was a super hit track, “Blockbuster” (from ‘Sarrainodu’) was indeed a blockbuster number as it topped chartbusters for several weeks and Nakash perfectly aced it up with ‘Raththalu’. So what does the hat-trick success mean to him? “I feel blessed about getting the opportunity to do what I really enjoy doing. I have been very fortunate because I got the opportunity to work down South with amazing composers like Devi Sri Prasad, SS Thaman, Mickey J Meyer, etc.

Nakash says that he had a blast while recording for “Raththalu” number. “Devi Sri Prasad (DSP) heard one of my earlier numbers and asked me to croon for “Raththalu”. When I got the opportunity, I was told back then that the film is going to be one of the biggest films of 2017 in Telugu. I had a blast while recording for the track.

DSP is cool guy and has the right temperament; he just takes you to a diffident world. I always ask the composers the meaning of the lyrics so that we can better express and emphasise on the right words. He even jigs to the songs in the studio, so that keeps us charged up,” smiles the “Saree Ke Fall Sa”, crooner.

The singer says he bonded big time with DSP. “I like gadgets, and DSP too is a big fan of cameras, and he has a crazy collection. He was sharing with me all the details and I hope to borrow one from him soon (smiles). He is passionate about technology and gadgets and I think that keeps him going. AR Rahman and Thaman too were fascinated with technology, and they are very geeky.”

Having crooned for super hits songs in Tamil and Kannada too, what keeps him coming back to South songs? “Language is not a barrier, but I just want to get associated with the music. I guess somewhere I have connected well with DSP and Thaman.

Initially, I was nervous to work with them because they are big, but it has been a learning experience for me over the years. I guess regional cinema is flourishing all over the country, and that’s because of their approach to cinema. The South has embraced technology and the newness of the music in a beautiful way while staying rooted to the culture,” he sums up.