DHOLIDA song (Gangubai kathiyawali)
Singer - Shail Hada
Song Producer - Shail Hada
Shail Hada, work is its own reward. His songs, Doli Mai bitha ke (Sawariya), Udi, Guzaarish, Tera Zikra (which won him the Stardust Male Sensation award in 2011) and Saiba (all from Guzaarish), Poore chand, Lahu munh lag gaya and Ang laga de (Goliyon Ki RasLeela—RamLeela) and Khalibali and Holi, Ek Malaal, (Padmaavat) with the current hit Dholida (Gangubai Kathiawadi).
Infinitely more significantly, Shail has also arranged most of the songs composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and has been a performer, jingles composer, has done a Marathi film (Carry On Marathi) as singer-composer besides some Hindi films (along with Pritesh Mehta as Shail-Pritesh) including some songs in Sarbjit, scored a Gujarati single, and been involved as singer in a few of Harrys Jairaj’s Tamil and Telugu films.
The affable and passionate singer hails from Kota, Rajasthan and is the son and student of his renowned vocalist father Jaswant Singh Hada and further guidance by his father friend shri Mahendra dixit jee Among the many stalwarts who illuminated his musical path in mumbai were Pt. Aaskaran Sharma (“You will never see a guru like him) and while in mumbai university taught by Sir Pt. Ajay Pohankar. Shail himself did his Sangeet Visharad and also M.A. in music. As opposed to his long and extensive musical training, he also wanted, from an early age, to sing playback in movies.
“I was exposed by my father to Mohammed Rafi as well as Mehdi Hasan and by my mother to Lata Mangeshkar,” he recalls. “When I had an accident and was in coma for 12 days, my mother told me that I had got a second birth! She asked me what I wanted to do and I told her I wanted to sing!
Over the years, also exposed to other playback legends besides other classical vocalists, Shail came to the conclusion that playback singing was a different and unique kettle of fish altogether. “I would like my singing to have the roundedness and sweetness of Rafi-saab, the pain in Mukesh-ji’s expression, the riyaaz of Manna Dey, the chanchalta (resilience) of Asha Bhosle and the soul of Lata Mangeshkar!” he declares.
Shail also believes that the human voice is a tool of communicating music. “My arrangements are only an extension of my singing. The human throat or vocal cords is the biggest instrument and I like to use voices that way. All the legendary composers gave importance to the various singers by studying and harnessing their throw, style, range, singing and their rhythm inhow words are used. A song is to be heard, not seen as it has become so nowadays. I want my voice to communicate.”
Because of this firm conviction, Shail has no qualms about refusing playback assignments that need him to come and record within 30 minutes as a recording studio been rented for a limited period! “The song has to be absorbed and only then can it reach someone’s soul!” he points out, declaring how, among the many songs he has turned down for the same reason, was a composition by a top duo.
A chance meeting with composer Monty Sharma led to his working on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black. “I can only work with someone I feel connected with, and I hit it off with Monty. We began to meet frequently years before the film happened. The movie had only one song, but I sang my first-ever film portion, a long alaap, in the famous fountain scene in the film. Then Monty also made me sing in Saawariya in Daras bina nahin chain and both versions of the title-track.”
Some years later, Shail was busy at riyaaz (a practice he feels should be rigidly done daily) when Sanjay Leela Bhansali asked him to meet up. “I knew Sanjay-sir’s musical acumen already, and he had sensed mine as well. So when he told me that he would begin to compose music if I was ready to arrange his songs, I immediately agreed.”
The first song that Shail arranged was the title-track of the new film, Guzaarish. “Sanjay-sir has an aura. His vision of a song presentation is something very unique to him. He has not learnt music, but as he is God-gifted, I have to bow to the supreme power that resides within him! Of course, he has heard so much and can come out with his own creations based on all that he has heard. Among the legends, he is hugely inspired by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and their earthy style.”
Revealing a secret of the filmmaker’s music, he says, “We are working now on Heeramandi. Sanjay-sir spends weeks on a song. There is lots of homework done on every song, lots of R & D and many versions thought of. A special memory for me is the effort on the Rajasthani track Ghoomar in Padmaavat.
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