Indian playback singer and film music composer Sri Vijay “Utsav” Prakash has an impressive record as an independent musician with 10,000 voice infomercials, 3,000 jingles as well as several song performances in Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam movies. In addition to hosting the “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa” Zee Kannada television show, he has performed with the legendary Bollywood music composer A.R Rahman and also the tabla virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain. One of the four singers credited for A.R Rahman’s song “Jai Ho” which won the 2008 academy award for the best original song, he has given live performances in several countries around the world.

Vijay Prakash currently visiting Boston for the Berklee India Program initiative, met with the Berklee vocal as well as instrumental student practitioners and gave them several useful techniques for musical skill improvement during mentoring workshops in the week of November 16. He will present a musical show “Aaroh” in collaboration with the Berklee Indian Ensemble led by Berklee faculty member Annette Phillip as well as students of dance from the Boston Conservatory. The show Aaroh supported by Global Initiatives, Berklee India Program and the Voice Department will be held on Thursday, Nov 19 at 8pm at the Berklee Performance Arts Center. 

Shuchita Rao of Lokvani spoke to Sri Vijay Prakash about his journey in the Bollywood music industry and his advice to aspiring youth wanting to make careers as musicians.

You come from a family of classical musicians from Mysore, Karnataka. What made you want to sing for films? What was your family’s reaction to your decision?

My father Sri L. Ramasesha who worked as an accountant for SD Motorcycles Company and my mother, a homemaker, Smt. R. Lopamudra were orthodox classical musicians who gave performances at several venues in and around Mysore.  I was therefore exposed to music from a young age and had a natural, organic training in Carnatic classical music. I was always listening to Kannada and Hindi film songs on the radio which was the only entertainment medium in Mysore in the late 1970s. The television came later. While I did not consider the radio as a formal training tool, I was absorbing and imbibing film music all through my childhood, thanks to the radio.

In 1992-1993, I joined National Cadet Corps(NCC) and attended camps all over India. In the process, I met people from different states from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Every evening, during informal cultural program sessions, I got to hear folk music and instrumental music from different parts of the country. That opened my mind and made me realize that there was a lot of music outside the shell of music I was living in.

I joined an engineering college in 1995 and realized within one semester that music was my calling in life. I explained my deep desire to pursue music on a full time basis to my parents who understood and were eventually convinced about my interest in investing in music as a career. “If that is what you want to do, may GOD be with you. Take it up as a responsibility and be serious about giving it all that you have.” was their advice to me.  I appreciate their advice and the freedom they gave me to be responsible about my chasing my dreams.

Do you ever regret your decision to have given up becoming an engineer?

I believe that education serves an important purpose. It shapes your personality, gives you elegance and wisdom. Above all, it empowers you to make decisions. God was kind to give me opportunities. However, I would not advise my own 15 year old daughter to jump into music without getting a good education and completing graduation. Becoming a graduate is not for the purpose of being a backup option if your passion does not work out and you need to get a job. It serves the purpose of understanding yourself and your passions and in giving you a strong foundation in life. After dropping out of engineering college, I traveled to Mumbai in 1995 and joined Shri Suresh Wadkar’s music institution Ajivasan, where I received formal training in Hindustani classical and semi-classical genres.

Could you describe the challenges involved in transitioning from a classical musician to a playback singer for films. Did you have to adopt a new style of thinking? Did you have to retrain your voice or use it in a different way than you were used to?

The best part of classical music is that it gives you a strong foundation. After that, all you have to do is to open up your mind and embrace other kinds of music. There are different perspectives about music. Some purists may believe that classical music is the greatest form and other kinds of music do not measure up. My perspective is that any genre that comes out of the seven musical notes of music Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, whether it be rock music, popular music, folk music is spiritual. I respect every genre of music. The transition from classical music to film music has been joyful.  Initially when I started singing film songs I sang them with ornamentation typically used in classical singing (demonstrates singing Zindagi bhar nahi bhoolegi wo barsaat ki raat). Then, with training, it dawned upon me that there were microphones and amplifiers I realized that the voice is an instrument that can play different kinds of tones and create different emotions (demonstrates singing a sargam in a classical manner and then a well-modulated raga based alaap followed by the film song cheeni kum hai…). The voice is an instrument, a tool that can be used in a variety of ways.

In your initial years in Mumbai, did you find sustaining yourself financially easy?

No. I landed in a city like Mumbai with no friends and relatives at a relatively young age. Dreams are one thing but the body demands three square meals a day. I did not want to do any random work for money. I believe that there is an external power and destiny came into play. Someone suggested I do short voice commercials. My very first commercial was for Kellogs cereal in Kannada language. Next day I had three more requests. I have done close to 10,000 commercial advertisements. (Sings his first jingle – “McDonald’s may hai kuch baat”). I have sung more than 3,000 jingles in various Indian languages. I kept learning new things that I could do with my voice through the journey. They came my way and I got to work with many different  music directors, including A.R Rahman Sir.

Classical Music was used in film music in 1950s, 60s and 70s. How would you define the film music of the current era.

Change is inevitable. With the emergence of internet, it became easy for a guy sitting in Jaipur, Rajasthan to know the music topping the charts in New York or Moscow or London. Music directors realized that the audience was listening to and enjoying music from all around the world and began creating a new genre of Indian film music that brought in elements of world music into its fold. For me pop is as important as rap or jazz or classical. There is scope for novelty in the current era. My 15 year old daughter for instance appreciates the music of the current era more than the music of 50s, 60s or 70s. We like listening to the music we grew up listening to. For me the golden period was the music of 70s and 80s. Instead of cribbing about the poor quality of music in the current era, the audience should be accepting of the new changes and begin to try seeing the value in them. They can always revert to listening to old movie songs because they continue to be available.

In current Indian film composers, whose music do you particularly admire?

Not because he is my Godfather or who changed my life, it is A.R Rahman Sir’s music that has a great effect on my emotions, on my spirituality, my thinking and my journey thus far. It is very difficult to explain what is magical about  his music. I feel that the supreme creator creates certain magicians to entertain people on the planet. Some create a name for themselves through their hard work. Some work hard but also get the supporting hand of the creator. But then there is that extraordinary and powerful kind that the creator creates after much thought and effort. He makes this human with great patience and after careful deliberation. This kind of package – whatever it touches becomes gold. Entertaining people around the world for more than 25 years consistently is not possible unless it is the special human GOD created out of choice. Even today, audiences want to listen to A R Rahman and attend his concerts. It becomes very difficult to pinpoint what is that secret magic ingredient in his music that makes him so popular.  Apart from A R Rahman Sir, I am open to music of other composers too. One good album released recently titled “Shandaar” composed by Amit Trivedi has appealed to me – I love the songs.

There are many aspiring singers in the market. What does one need to do to get noticed by good music directors?

This is a tricky question to answer. You need intelligence, you need strategies and all that but I believe that art is something that needs a lot of honesty and patience. If you are true to your music, if you are working hard day and night to polish your skills, if you are committed and if you are enjoying doing what you are doing, then you WILL get noticed. You will not have to go out of the way and tell the world “Listen to me – I am the best.”  If you simply work on doing your best on every opportunity that you get, the world has to notice you and will notice you.

What skills and traits must young musicians cultivate if they seek to enter Bollywood?

In the old times there were conventional voices for every role – for instance, to play the role of a hero, you needed a particular kind of voice. Today, things are a little different. The shelf life for a singer is not as long as it used to be in the earlier times. You have to carve your individuality. You can have a thin voice, a fat voice, any kind of voice. Today, you need “attitude” in your style. Attitude is not to be confused with pride. Every music director wants something new and different.  Musicians need to look at themselves carefully, identify their strengths and without blindly copying anybody else, show their uniqueness to the world.

Have you composed for films?

Yes.  I have composed the score for one film – a South Indian movie titled “Andar Baahar”.  I have always loved composing music since my childhood. This was a perfect opportunity for me to learn the complex things that go into creating a film score. The music for a film must satisfy the director, producer, sometimes actors, the audience and finally, yourself.  It is a difficult job and demands time, dedication and loyalty.

What are your long term plans? Would you want to continue as a playback singer/performing artist or compose music for more films?

Recently, a non-film music album featuring myself and singer Bianca Gomes called Ananthaal produced and directed by Clinton Cerejo has been released and is doing very well in Indi.  It has elements of jazz and pop layered on top of Indian music. I am looking forward to traveling around the world performing the songs of this album. GOD has given me many opportunities and I have given my sincere best to every opportunity, big or small that came my way. I have had a happy and satisfying journey thus far. I look forward to serving many more rewarding years in the Indian music industry.

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