Want to be a musician as good as Shakira or Britney? ‘Be a deewana’
He has been a part of the music industry for over two decades and has rubbed shoulders with some of the best musicians in the country. Yet, singercomposer Sukhwinder Singh feels that Indian musicians and singers are not as committed [to their craft] as some of the biggest names in international music are.
Sukhwinder says, “People tend to think that singers such as Britney Spears or Shakira get crazy fan following just because of the way they look. But, what people fail to realise is the amount of hard work and passion that goes into it.”
He feels that Indian musicians lack passion. “Our singers, and musicians, sadly don’t have that deewangi (passion). There’s a very fine line between being driven to do music and being a deewana of it. Musicians here are not mad about making music.”
Citing an example, he shares that whenever he is recording a song, he takes his watch off. “That’s because when I am recording, I don’t want to fall into that trap of knowing how long I have taken to record. When I am recording, I don’t want to focus on anything else. That’s what I mean, when I say you have to be a deewana,” adds the singer, who is known for hits such as Chaiyya Chaiyya (Dil Se, 1998), Chak De (Chak De!!, 2007) and the most recent Kar Har Maidan Fateh from the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Sanju.
The 47-year-old says that he realised the dedication and drive of the international musicians when he met popular American singer-songwriter Whitney Houston. “I met her about 15 years back, and I was stunned. That woman, only talked about music, and there was nothing else that she was this passionate about. She was a deewana. I remember, Michael Jackson used to meet her every week, and they used to discuss nothing, but music. One needs to have that madness for them to be as popular. Its not just looks because of which they get famous or big,” he concludes.