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'I'm too old to start acting'

CUT APART
Last Updated 01 February 2012, 13:06 IST

If one has to really see an example of age not being a barrier to music, a short performance by Biddu would be an ideal thing to see.

Expect to see everybody from a woman in her seventies clad in a crisp silk sari all the way to a teenager set to headbang. It is the unmistakable appeal of a song like Aap Jaisa Koi from the 80s film Qurbani that can do such things. Composer, songwriter and music producer Biddu, who was in town recently for the launch of his second book, ‘Curse of the Godman’, admits that though his focus has shifted to writing, he continues to betray an evident connect to all things music. “I am glad I was a musician. But it is nice to change careers sometimes,” he says. “Many friends of mine, like Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan, became actors. If I could have spoken in Hindi, I would be an actor. Now I am too old to start,” he adds rather convincingly.

The man has behind him, a 55-year-old career in music, the launch of a few new genres, Grammys and millions of sold records. His earliest hits include Aap Jaisa Koi and ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ besides being attached to the launch of some of the country’s best selling pop artistes like Nazia Hassan and Alisha Chinai and international ones like Tina Charles. For someone who carries a slice of history on his shoulders, he is modest but laced with an ounce of sarcasm occasionally. “Tina Charles in the West and Pakistani singer Nazia Hassan in India have perhaps been my greatest discoveries,” he says adding that there have been a few songs in his career he knew would turn into a rage. “‘I Love to Laugh’, Disco Deewane and ‘Made in India’ were three songs I knew would work the moment I heard them. Nothing could stop them,” he says.

Biddu admits he is on a self-induced sabbatical from music and has made no music for the past four years. Things are soon to change though. “I will be releasing a disco album this year called ‘Guilty Pleasures’. It has vocals and will be very disco,” he says. Besides occasional sabbaticals and career changes, Biddu, despite his long association with music, doesn’t listen to much himself. “I am not someone who listens to music. I never play music and have no CD/record collection of my own. When I am home, I prefer watching comedy on television,” he says.

His choice to write is something he makes out to be a rather simple decision and admits he doesn’t look back or regret having chosen both music and then writing. He released his first book, an autobiography titled ‘Made in India’ in 2010. He is currently working on his third book, another piece of fiction. “I wanted to write fiction but HarperCollins wanted me to write an autobiography first. I refused initially but decided to sell my soul to the devil when they gave me a three book offer. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse,” he says.

His Coorgi orig­in, exposure to tea estates and British neighbours have an obvious influence on his writing. About his latest book, he says, “In many ways, it is a woman’s book more than a man’s book. It is set on a tea estate in Darjeeling and has elements of romance, bigotry, mysticism and more. It is a period drama with many sub plots that come together in the last 30 pages of the book. It could ideally be made into a film,” he says.

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(Published 01 February 2012, 13:06 IST)

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