Ever since the great maestros faded away from the film music scene there has been no one who makes quality music, laments legendary playback singer Manna Dey.
"Film music is losing its purity and its foundation in Indian heritage. Now all it consists of is heavy rhythm, glossy picturisation and bone breaking dance," 84-year-old Dey, whose last song was for the film "Prahaar" (1991), told me in an interview in Delhi in February 2005.
"After working with great maestros like Anil Biswas, Roshan and others I cannot digest current day music. But then I have to move on and accept the change," said Dey, ruing the lack of depth and soul in current day film music.
Dey, who was this year awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian awards, for his contribution to music, was in Delhi for a concert "Golden Era Revisited", organised in aid of tsunami victims by the Prayas Institute of Juvenile Justice.
Dey was of the opinion that artificial sounds and synthetic instruments had deteriorated the quality of music.
"Where is the involvement of the musicians? Nowadays, the male and female singers hardly meet for duet recordings, thanks to computer-generated track recordings and readymade tunes," Dey said.
He should know. His song "Ritu aye ritu jaye", which he sang with Lata Mangeshkar, under music director Anil Biswas, reportedly took close to three weeks of rehearsals.
Born as Prabhodhchandra Dey, he was named "Manna" by uncle and legendary musician K.C. Dey of Kolkata's New Theatres.
Dey began his singing career with "Tyag Mayi Gayi Tu Sita" ("Ram Rajya", 1941) at the age of 22. His big break came with the smash hit "Upar Gagan Vishaal" ("Mashaal", 1950).
He sang classics like "Kaun aya mere man ke dware" in "Dekh Kabira Roya" (1957) and "Aayo kahan se ghanshyam" in "Buddha Mil Gaya" (1971).
Although he is associated with a range of evergreen songs - qawwalis such as "Ae meri zohra zabin" ("Waqt", 1965), romantic numbers such as "Yeh raat bheegi bheegi" ("Chori Chori", 1956) and the comic but irreplaceable "Ek chatur naar" ("Padosan", 1968) - many say he was typecast as a singer of religious hymns.
Recognition was hard to come by, for his voice was rarely considered suitable for the conventional Bollywood hero.
"I used to feel sad initially. But I am very content now after having been a contemporary of singers like Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar and Talat Mehmood on one side and several great music directors on the other," Dey said.
"I have sung for heroes, villains, comedians and side role characters. Not everybody gets that opportunity," he said.
For Dey, there have never been other singers like Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.
"People may disagree with me, but I know for a fact that Rafi was not that well versed with classical music. Few know that he has worked under me as a chorus singer when I was an assistant director," Dey said.
"But that was his greatness. His voice was god's gift, which not everybody gets.
"Even filmmakers were of a different quality then. Kapoor Saab (Raj Kapoor) used to sit with us during the rehearsals and understand the songs. That showed in the filming too."
Incidentally, Dey won his first Filmfare Award in 1971 - 25 years into his career - for the Raj Kapoor song "Aye bhai zara dekh ke chalo" composed by Shankar Jaikishen for the film "Mera Naam Joker".
"Awards no more interest me. If I get them I will only ask 'why not?'"
"All I can do is sing. I will sing till the last breath of my life," Dey said, condensing in his wish the spirit of that immortal line he sang "Sur Ke Bina Jeevan Soona" (Life is empty without music).
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