Film songs more about technical brilliance than music Singer Malini Awasthi

Jaipur, Jan 6 (PTI) Singer Malini Awasthi, known for captivating audiences with her unique voice and vibrant stage presence in live performances, finds singing for films difficult as the 'queen of folk' considers it to be more about "technical birliiance" than musical expression.
    Awasthi, a trained vocalist in Hindustani semi-classical styles such as dadra, thumri, and kajri, who thrives on live performances, admitted her dislike for the studio setup for film songs, where she feels disconnected, "singing in front of a dead mic."
    "Film songs are always about somebody else. The situation is given to you, somebody else will be lip-syncing and you don't know how they'll picturise the song. So it is like singing to somebody else's tune... I tell my music directors, 'If you want to really record me, let's do it live'.
    "In the good old days too, when we had the classics of Hindi movies or even non-filmy album songs, they were all sung live and recorded... Now, it is like you are singing to a machine. Even for a duet song, one person goes, the second person comes three days later and records their part. Today, it is more of technical brilliance than musical brilliance, it is what has happened sadly," Awasthi told PTI.
    The 57-year-old singer, who has recorded songs for films like "Agent Vinod", "Dum Laga Ke Haisha", "Soundtrack", "Jaanisar", and "Lipstick Under My Burkha", recently performed at the inaugural edition of 'Jaigarh Heritage Festival'.
    During her performance, she effortlessly broke into dance while singing century-old verses and famous folk songs.
    Enjoying her travels across the country and abroad for her shows, Awasthi noted that the number and scale of her concerts have only grown over the years.
    She also highlighted a rising interest among the youth in understanding and appreciating Indian classical and folk music.
    The Padma Shri-awardee said that today's youth is exposed to a wide variety of music, including jazz, country, Western, and hip-hop, and only after exploring and enjoying these diverse genres, many have now chosen to return to their musical roots.
    "See how retro is back, how we are celebrating the 1990s and 2000s. There is an urge among people to go back to their roots, and listen to the same songs once again. They have the choice, they are able to see everything, feel everything and then they have decided to come back to their roots, which is Indian classical and folk music," she explained.
    When asked about her preparation before concerts, the Lucknow-based singer, who enjoys interacting with the audience and sharing the stories or folktales behind the songs, explained that she never goes on stage with a fixed list as her playlist is all about 'janta's farmaish' (audience's request).
    "Unlike other artists, I never go to stage with a definite list of songs. This has never been the case... I like to interact with my audience, I like to build up something. So there are some favourites which are on my list, moreover the listeners' list. Send a 'farmaish', and I will sing is what I usually tell them. Anything that people request me to sing is my favourite too," she added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)