Sanjay Leela Bhansali On KK

Unfortunately I had to be the  one to give the  tragic news of  singer  KK’s sudden death  to  Sanjay Leela Bhansali(SLB) in whose  Hum…Dil De  Chuke Sanam KK sang his most famous Hindi song Tadap tadap ke iss dil se aah nikalti rahi.

Just awake , SLB is jolted  wide alert by the  news. “How could KK just collapse and  die like this? Are  you sure?  What  a talent! What a singer!  His voice had  the throw of a pro. I remember when composer Ismail Durbar had come to me with  the song Tadap tadap ke it was in KK’s voice. Normally scratch recordings( sample recordings) are done in temporary voices.  But when I heard the  song my  first response was, ‘Oh my God! What a voice? Who’s this? Where  did you find  him?’ Ismail said it was the voice  of  a singer  named KK and he had heard  him sing a song Chhod aaye hum woh galiyan for  Vishal Bhardwaj. I told  Ismail that  I loved the song Tadap tadak ke. But the  voice  must remain. I couldn’t imagine anyone else singing Tadap tadap ke.”

SLB says Tadap tadap ke  has acquired an anthemic resonance over the years. “KK was a  complete singer. His range and voice-throw were outstanding. He could have been  much more successful than he was. But he preferred to concentrate  on  quality rather than quantity. He  was  very particular about what he sang.”

SLB’s next  experience  with  KK was  Devdas. “He sang only some alaaps in Devdas. But in my film Guzaarish when I became  a  full-fledged music composer for the  first time,I wanted him to sing a number of songs. I think KK sang three of  my most cherished  compositions Daayen baayen, Jaane  kisske khwab and the  title  song Guzaarish. Of  all  these I cherish Jaane kisske khwab the most. It is a special composition  for me,made  even more special by KK’s singing.”

SLB shares an interesting  observation from the  recordings of Guzaarish.  “KK insisted on sitting  on a chair to sing the songs of  Guzaarish. Normally singers stand  and record their songs. But KK insisted on  singing  seated. His  reason was simple: ‘The hero(Hrithik Roshan) is a paraplegic, he will sing the songs from a seated position,so will I.’ That  was his level of  his dedication.He shouldn’t have gone so soon.”