Vijay Prakash: Happy that I continue to get songs of all genres

The ace playback singer, who has composed a song titled ‘Pledge’, talks about being versatile across languages

Vijay Prakash, the Oscar and Grammy winning song vocalist, is happy about being popular for his voice and not for a particular style.

The voice of many evergreen Kannada numbers has recently composed a song for Ministry of Finance. Called ‘Pledge’, the song with a patriotic theme, has been made in 11 languages. The multilingual singer talks to Showtime about the project and his versatile career. Excerpts:

Tells us about your recent composition for the Ministry of Finance

It is for the people working in the finance sector. My song aims to inspire them to take a pledge to continue serving the nation. It was a big responsibility for me to come up with a melody that can bring in the spirit of a proud Indian, the emotion of it. I came up with this tune in Raag Desh within twenty minutes once it was decided to be composed on a raga. What you hear is 95% of live music — it has that human touch. I thank Sangeeta (the creative head of the project), RK Swamy ad agency and Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman, for giving me this opportunity and to all the singers and musicians of the project.

Will we get to see you compose more in the future?

I would love to. But I am busy singing for other composers, which I really enjoy. I have been travelling for concerts. I will be touring the US and UK. Apart from this, I am doing a Telugu reality show ‘Padutha Theeyaga’ which is getting aired every Sunday on ETV Telugu. So a couple of projects here and there are good, but I won’t be a full-time composer.

Since the pan-India boom, how have career prospects changed for singers?

It is great. There are so many opportunities now with the OTT boom. Everybody is busy recording and performing. There are so many instances where I have sung the master track in Kannada, Telugu and other languages when it gets dubbed. I am happy when people from my fraternity get work and everyone is busy, as it is not about money. It’s about keeping the creative energy intact.

Starting off with ‘Kavithe Kavithe’ from ‘Gaalipata’ (2008), which is a melody, how did you become such a reliable singer for ‘mass’ and peppy numbers in Kannada?

Life is a ‘navarasa’. We exhibit so many moods in a single day. That is exactly what happens to our career also. Sometimes, we get a beautiful melody to sing and sometimes a peppy number. But, it is the same voice, same character and the same singer. Just the emotion keeps changing. When you do it with honesty, it touches people. People like my ‘Om Shivoham’ (devotional), ‘Belageddu yaara mukhava’ (peppy), ‘Innum konjam neram’ (romantic), ‘Aaradagula bulletu’, ‘Jai ho’ (high-energy), which are in different genres.

There is a separate fan base for your classical songs...

Classical music gives you strength to sing anything. If I have learnt classical, it does not mean the industry has to compose classical songs for me. For me, it is how I apply my knowledge into any genre. I am happy when I get songs in multiple styles. I like the fact that people know me for my voice and don’t categorise me to one style.

How does the future of Kannada music look like?

Reality shows have given such amazing talent. I can proudly talk about ‘Saregamapa’. There are so many talented singers like Shree Harsha, Sanjith Hegde, Ankita Kundu, Aishwarya Rangarajan, Nihal Tauro... the list goes on. They all are amazing. They are all doing extremely well. If they are focused, passionate, honest and sincere to their art and talent, it is a great time to be in this world of music.

You’ve worked with several music directors. Can you tell what make these music directors unique: Hamsalekha, Mano Murthy, Gurukiran, Arjun Janya, Ajaneesh Lokanath, V Harikrishna?

All of them are legends. The beauty is, everybody starts as a newcomer. Everybody starts a new day, a new job, a new piece in the same enthusiasm as they had on their day one. Even after so many years, they have ideas that are fresh, they have tunes that are appealing. I have been fortunate that I have been working with all these people. It is about the enthusiasm you have every morning, irrespective of how long you have worked. When you are humble, it keeps you grounded and you look at every opportunity with a lot of enthusiasm. This enthusiasm translates itself into a new style and energy. I do not look at myself as a senior singer. I look at myself as a singer who wants to sing.

We have heard countless stories about AR Rahman and his magic. Through your eyes, tell us what are the qualities you found in him that helps him stay relevant even today.

I think he is timeless because he is reinventing himself everyday. He does not look at himself as AR Rahman the legend. He looks at himself as a musician who still has so much more to offer. He is full of energy. Whatever I am today, I owe a lot of my joy, happiness and success to him. He has given me those lovely platforms and opportunities which have elevated my career. He has given opportunities to hundreds of other singers as well. I love and respect him.