Ek Mulakat with Avadhoot Gupte

There are so many talent hunt shows for singing going on various channels; one often wonders what happens to these contestants and winners after these contests are over. Not all of them can make their mark in the music industry. But I happen to meet such a person who was a winner of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma’ in 1996 and who made his mark in the Marathi as well as indi-pop music industry as a good composer, singer and also a lyricist …… Avadhoot Gupte.
His albums ‘Aika dajiba’ and ‘Meri madhoobala’ and also songs like ‘Jai Jai Maharashtra Maaza’ were on top of the charts and were hugely appreciated by people all across the country. He has composed, written and sung most of these songs from these albums.
His first album as a composer was an Indi-Pop album called "Aika Dajiba" which is considered to be a landmark album in the field of Indian Pop Music. "Aika Dajiba" started the trend of Hindi pop songs with a Marathi punch line. He calls this type of music as combo music. This song received unparalleled response from audiences of all ages world over.
This album was followed up with yet another super hit album, which launched him as a pop singer - "Meri Madhubala".
Most of his songs are composed, sung and even written by him. The simplicity and smooth flow of his lyrics got such a tremendous response from the audiences that he found himself writing the lyrics for most of his compositions. From the foot tapping fun songs like Aika Dajiba, Meri Madhubala, Halu Halu Chaal to romantic songs like Koi Ho and Kabhi Gehere Samunder right up to sentimental numbers like Din Pareshan, Saila and Piya Lage Na Jiya, Avadhoot writes and composes songs of different kinds of moods with equal amount of ease and expertise.
This very versatile and talented singer-composer-lyricist was in Dubai on 30th May for his concert named ‘Dil se Maratha’ which was organized by ‘Maharashtra Mandal Dubai’ in the Mall of emirates. This was his first solo-concert abroad and he received an overwhelming response here. What we all witnessed was his talent as a performer. He is an outstanding performer who creates an instant rapport with the audience.





Here are some excerpts from the interview….

Varsha: Have you taken any formal training in music? Do u have any family background in music? Which place do you belong to?
Avadhoot: Yes I have taken formal training in Hindustani classical music for 12 years from Pandit Jayant Datar.
There are no singers in my family, but yes art is there in my family. My father is a commercial artist and he runs an advertising firm.
I am born and brought up in Mumbai, but my native place is Kolhapur.

V: Tell me about your experience of ‘Sa Ra Ga Ma’. How did it help you to shape up your career?
A: I was a winner of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma’ in 1996. When I was selected from the audition, it was a surprise for me, I never imagined or expected or even thought that I would go past even the first round. So I was very relaxed and just considered it as an opportunity to showcase my singing talent infront of the whole nation and I think this approach helped me in winning the contest.
This victory helped me a lot to shape up my career. People had started knowing and recognizing me because of this contest, whenever I used to go to meet any music director they had heard about me because of ‘Sa Ra Ga Ma’. So in a way it opened lot of opportunities for me and made my path smoother and with fewer hurdles.

V: You started the trend of remixes of Marathi songs and also combo music in the indi-pop music industry. Tell me how this idea of bringing Marathi song remixes and combo music struck your mind?
A: I never planned or consciously decided things in my life. It just happened. I would say my music is always a reaction of what is happening around. That time the trend of remixed song was very popular and what I found that only Punjabi and Hindi dance numbers were available for the audience. I found the need to bring other regional songs also on the national level so that they also will be known within wider audience. I am from Maharashtra so obviously I thought of bringing Marathi song remixes and also a combo music where the punch line of Hindi song is Marathi. This experiment of mine was received very well by the audience and my albums ‘Aika Dajiba’ and ‘Meri Madhoobala’ became runaway hits.
V: On which project are you working now?
A: I am working on a Hindi rock album which is yet to be titled.
V: Being the winner of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma’ and also being a judge of Marathi ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ what do you think about such contests and reality shows?
A: I think all these reality shows are really good. They are providing platforms for numerous aspiring singers bringing the talent from the remote pockets of india infront of the whole nation. But yes…only those who are genuinely talented can survive and achieve something in the music industry as is it for any other fields. Ultimately only real talent survives.

V: Do you want to give any message for all the aspiring singers and musicians who are participating in the reality shows?
A: I don’t consider myself in a position to give any message to anybody. But yes I can give a friendly advice to all these aspiring singers, composers that they should retain their originality and should try to give something new to the audience without thinking that whether the audience will like it or not. Audience will do their job, but we should always try to give something new and also good to the audience.
With those words, we concluded the interview. It was really wonderful chatting with such a versatile person, who is a good singer as well as a great composer and lyricist and who is a mind blowing performer on the stage and is equally good in all the roles…. a complete artist. We wish him lots of success.