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Fakir Hassen in Johannesburg
Neeraj Shridhar, Swedish Indi-pop band Bombay Vikings' Indian vocalist, says the lack of true pop music in India inspired him to sing in Hindi though his band members can't understand the language.
The lead singer and songwriter of the Vikings, who are on a tour of South Africa, said their music was inspired in 1994 by the pop scenario in India.
"The Hindi pop scene in India was more of a remix domain. There was nothing much happening. I used to listen to it once in a while and wondered what was going on. We called it Hindi pop, but there was no pop!"
He said the aim of Bombay Vikings was to bring Indian youth back into the Hindi music fold. "We should be able to show them that Indian melodies are as good as any Western melodies."
Shridhar's Swedish band mates seem to agree. "I like almost all kinds of music, and often listen to Indian classical music by maestros like Ravi Shankar, but the pop that Shridhar introduced us to is a whole new experience in terms of cross-cultural exchange," said keyboard player Mats Olsson.
"We know it's Hindi that he speaks, but we don't understand anything of what he sings. It is very interesting, though," Olsson said.
The group achieved international fame with the hit song Wo Chali Wo Chali, which Shridhar confessed was somewhat autobiographical.
"Wo Chali... came about when I kept humming the tune from the film Padosan, which I have seen at least nine times, and decided to do something about it," he said. "Yes, it had something to do with my life.
"I knew a very pretty girl, whom I've lost all contact with now. I was very much in love with her, but could never ever go up to her and tell her that. I thought she loved me too because I could feel special vibes. One day I found out she had a boyfriend and by then it was too late. I still miss her."
Shridhar, who moved to Sweden at an early age to further his music career, said it took a long time because there was a lot of music interest in the country and it was very competitive there. He has learnt to speak Swedish, but singing in that language is restricted to the bathroom, by his own admission.
Shridhar said the transition to Hindi vocals started with his casually humming a tune from the Hindi film Aradhana.
"One day I was going to meet these guys [his five Swedish band mates] to rehearse for another show in Stockholm. I thought of a song from Aradhana and accidentally started singing it in English, which initially made me laugh.
"But later on I thought 'this is a good idea, let's try it'. The song turned out to be a real hit and led to the compilation of a whole CD of old and new songs.
"We don't do remixes; we do what I call remakes. In remixes you take the same vocal notes, same lyrics, same music and just modify it by adding popish beats. But in remakes you have to start from scratch by writing different lyrics and giving the song a total new outlook. So the whole treatment is different."
Shridhar said he has received many offers to appear as a guest in Indian films, but he does not want to do that. "I am perfectly happy with my music videos, because appearing in films could make or break you."
Bombay Vikings will perform in two large Indian townships -- Lenasia near Johannesburg on Friday evening and Chatsworth, south of Durban, on Saturday night.
Indo-Asian News Service
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