Mithoon Sharma: I can’t be influenced by society, it should be the other way around

Mithoon Sharma

Amid the spate of remixes of '90s ditties that have flooded the music industry in the last few years, only a handful have been created with such prowess that they can make a listener skip a heartbeat. Serving as true tributes to the original chartbusters, these recreations diligently amalgamate the beauty of the classics with contemporary demands. For this writer, Mithoon Sharma's version of the Gadar number, Udd ja kaale kawa, is one such offering. Over two decades after the release of the original, enhanced music production techniques appear to have given Udit Narayan's vocals a new lease of life in this ballad-like rendition.

"I don't think I would be able to imagine this song without him. He is part of the song's genesis. The way he has maintained himself and his vocal quality is commendable; he sounds so good even today, at the age of 67. He sang each line again for this version. People have connected with the [song] and his voice," says Sharma, who, despite being vocal about his opposition to recreations, agreed to work on this one because "cinematically, there was a [valid] reason to recreate it".

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Speaking of the track that will feature in the film's upcoming second instalment, he says, "I was sure that I would not change the original composition or poetry. Our director [Anil Sharma] appreciated the reverence. It does have a certain folk-base, and I wanted that to be reflected in the way it was rendered. You can hear a new set of progression and I've added [elements] that are telling of my work. When it begins, you can gauge that this is my work," says Sharma, who also retained the instruments used in the original.

A spate of appreciated releases behind him, Sharma attributes his success to his ability to stay true to himself, and his admirers. "It is the people with whom an artiste has conversations. They are the ones who make a song what it eventually becomes. I feel I have a strong connection with them. Whenever I have been true to my heart, my work has connected with them." However, when his close associates attempt to unravel his work to study his recipe for success, the composer dissociates with the attempts.

"As a composer, if I think [about this] too much, I won't be able to make music. I can't be influenced by society. It has to be the other way around. I am grateful that my music is reaching every corner of India. It makes me realise that Indian artistes have so much more to offer."