King's new gems

Metro Plus Chennai - The Hindu - India
Monday, April 10, 2006

Daler Mehndi on films, Sufi singing and more:

Daler Mehndi is back in action with the title song of "Rang De Basanti" that continues to rule the charts. The man who once made Bhangra a household name across the country and changed tack with Maqbool, seems to be getting selective these days.
The pop star says he was initially tense about the success of "Rang De Basanti." "Rakeysh Mehra and I were apprehensive about the box office results of the album. But we were overjoyed when the numbers topped all music charts."

The quality of lyrics in today's songs has degenerated, he feels. "It is mostly communicative and abusive language that is used in the lyrics. There is absence of inner meaning and emotions."
As for his recent appearance at the Jahan-e-Khusrau festival where he sang Sufi songs, he said he would always treasure the experience, especially the moments he spent with Sufi singer Abida Parveen.

The singer feels the advent of techno music has not just revolutionised music, but has also given rise to many challenging avenues in the field.

Playback singing or stage shows, which does he prefer? Pat comes the reply, "Stage shows. For a stage show, I practise rigorously, as the scope for errors is minimal."