'Playback singer needn't learn music'

She started taking music lessons from the age of eight and has been teaching others since her teen days. Popular singer Suresh Wadkar's wife Padma Wadkar, vice principal and a musician committed to teaching at the Ajivasan academy, says it's not mandatory for playback singing aspirants to join a music school.

"A lot of top-rank singers claim that they they have not learnt music. So, if we tell others that learning music is essential...that's not fair. You will end up confusing the person. The need to learn for playback singing today...I won't say it's necessary," Padma, a trained classical vocalist, told IANS.

Apart from teaching music, she wants to do more for budding artists.

"In our country, playback singing is considered to be the ultimate dream. I would love to create another platform. It will take time. But I believe that film singing should not be considered the only platform.

"Like in the West, public singing should also be considered as one of the top positions. In our country, that's yet to happen. If a person sings for a film here...even if it's negligible like just four lines...that also becomes a feather in your cap. That should change," she said.

Padma, whose "whole life is related to music" and who will soon be turning 43, has no qualms about admitting to admiring playback singers like Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chauhan.

"Don't portray me as a wannabe playback singer. I do look up to Shreya and Sunidhi though they are much younger to me," she said.

Unlike her husband, she is yet to croon for a Bollywood project. She believes she lacks what it takes to be a playback singer.

"I felt like for some reason that I don't have what it takes. You need an attitude that I lack. But if you ask me 'Is it a good place to be in?' Of course it is. Our country endorses that. So, yes playback singing is a great place to be in in our country," said the mother of two daughters.

While Bollywood can wait, she came out with her first album "Morey Piya" last month. Featuring songs with her husband and "Abhi mujh main kahin" hitmaker Sonu Nigam, the music is composed by Shreyas Puranik.

"Album... was never on my mind. It happened over a period of time. I had recorded songs with Shreyas, who is a student of Ajivasan. They were piling up and we were not doing anything about them. I was told by others to do an album, but I thought album would get lost in the crowd. But later, I agreed," said Padma.

And she is happy with the response.

"They are all love songs. They are not generation bound... not like in the face like 'I love you'. Be it a 50-year-old or youngsters, they can relate to it. Shreyas is only 22. People of his age group have also liked at least four to five songs and I think that's good," she said.

(Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at natalia.n@ians.in)