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Kumar Sanu says he gets ‘respect’ from the industry but ‘no work’

Singer Kumar Sanu talks about being active in the industry for decades, but laments that composers aren't making him sing enough for films

Published on: Aug 7, 2024, 13:37:37 IST
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Kumar Sanu's voice that made the '90s all the more special for all music enthusiasts. He has been mesmerising listeners for decades now. And while the audience still cherishes his old classics like Chura Ke Dil Mera, Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain, Chori Choir Jab Nazrein Mili amongst hundreds more, currently they don't get to hear him playback too often.

Singer Kumar Sanu
Singer Kumar Sanu

The singer's last feature film song was Dard Karara in the 2015 release Dum Laga Ke Haisha. His voice also came in the recreation of Aankh Maarey in Simmba in 2018.

Ask Sanu why we don't hear him more often in films, and he replies, "Mera journey abhi tak bahut achha raha hai, everybody respects me in the industry. Par sabse badi baat hai ki log respect toh dete hain, pyaar dete hain, hamara gaana bhi sunte hain... I don't know why they are not using my voice for more songs in Hindi films."

Read more: Kumar Sanu to get personality rights protected like Amitabh Bachchan, says ‘AI se duplicate voice banana is wrong’

Sanu recently performed at a host of sold out live shows in the United States. Asserting that there are still takers for voices from his generation, he tells us, "Agar hum gaa sakte hain, toh humse kyun nahi gawaate? Inke (makers) ke mann mein kyun nahi aata? I am doing shows, I have a fan following. Everywhere I go I see shows are being sold out. Public demand hai. I am also bringing another set of live shows in October and November this year. Agar industry wale samajh jaayein toh achha baat hai, nahi toh unka durbhagya hai."

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rishabh Suri

Rishabh Suri is an Assistant Editor, film critic, and professional overthinker of plot points. He writes for HT City, keeping pace with an industry where news cycles expire long before the popcorn gets cold. He completed his graduation in English Honours from Kirori Mal College, followed by a Master’s degree in English Literature-effectively training his brain to over-analyse classic texts before applying those exact same skills to 3-hour Bollywood blockbusters. He got into the profession when he had barely graduated from college and has been at HT ever since. At HT, Rishabh reviews films with a simple rule: skip the dense academic jargon and get straight to the point. Beyond reviews, as Assistant Editor, he helps navigate the broader circus of showbiz, tracking everything from OTT shifts to sudden box office panics. In a beat driven by loud PR machinery and carefully scripted answers, Rishabh prefers cutting through the noise to focus on how stories get made and why trends shift. When he isn’t writing against a deadline, he is usually sitting in a dark theater, compulsively memorising dialogues. For Rishabh, analysing movies isn't just a day job- it’s a habit he couldn't turn off even if he tried.

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