Padma Shri recipient singer Suresh Wadkar to perform on October 20 in NJ

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“A song which becomes immortal has to have a good birth chart,” said well-known classical, folk and film singer Suresh Wadkar.

“What an artist can do is to do his work well with honesty,” Wadkar said. “After that, God and the audiences make a song and a film popular,” he said.

Wadkar was speaking to Nidhi Kathuria on his recent visit to Parikh Worldwide Media’s ITV Gold Studio in New Jersey.

Many songs of Wadkar have become very popular and have lasted the passage of time. He believes there are no formulas for their popularity or success. He said every song has its own fate and luck, which he defined as the ‘Kundali’ or birth-chart of the song.

The depth of Wadkar’s voice can be experienced in many songs, including the unforgettable ghazal:

Sine mein jalan aankhon mein tufaan sa kyun hai?

Is shahar mein har shakhsh pareshaan sa kyun hai?

where the deep pain expressed in the soulful voice of Wadkar strikes with its intensity.

Wadkar is a versatile Indian film singer, and has performed in Hindi, Marathi, Konkani, Odia and Bhojpuri films.

Recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2018 for Sugam Sangeet, Wadkar has also received the Padma Shri award from the Government of India in 2020.

In 1976, Wadkar won the Madan Mohan Best Male Playback Singer Award.

He is also a recipient of the 2004 Lata Mangeshkar Puraskar.

And, he has won the 2007 Maharashtra Pride Award from the government of Maharashtra.

Wadkar’s music journey began at the age of 8, when he began to learn music from Acharya Jialal Vasant who had founded the Ajivasan Music Academy.

Today, Wadkar sings in many genres. Learning and practicing take you slowly towards ease in singing of different genres, Wadkar said in his interview, emphasizing the importance of hard work as a pre-requisite.

Wadkar also gave credit for his success to his guru Jialal Vasant, and to the unfailing support of his family. “My parents sacrificed a lot for me, so did my brother and sister, to advance my career.” Wadkar said in the interview. He said his whole family was music oriented, he said. Blessings of god and audience has played a big part in his success, Wadkar acknowledged.

Wadkar’s film music journey began with the gifted composer Ravindra Jain having his first song in Rajashree Productions’ film ‘Paheli’. It was at Jain’s recording studio that Wadkar met Lata Mangeshkar for the first time.

After listening to him, Mangeshkar herself had called up music directors to give him a chance. Music direcrtors Laxmikant Pyarelal gave him his first song with Lata Mangeshkar in the film ‘Krodhi’, ‘chal chameli baag mein’.

In his interview, Wadkar listed some of his favorite songs with Mangeshkar which included ‘Megha re Megha re’, ‘yeh aankhen dekh kar ham sari duniya bhul jate hain’, and many more.

“She was my Saraswati Maa,” he said, adding that the interactions with Lata Mangeshkar are very personal and so “I keep them in my heart.”

Wadkar does not see digitizing and reality shows as hindrances to the future of music. A singer who is visible becomes more popular, Wadkar admitted, saying reality shows place a singer in front of audience, producers and music composers simultaneously. Reality shows have given us many talented singers like Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, Arijit Singh, Wadkar said.

Giving details of his international concert tour designed by his US based brother, Wadkar spoke about how the tour ‘Safarnama’ began, with a glimpse at a film festival in Oslo, Norway. “I gave a glimpse of the concert tour to the Consul General in New York early this month,” Wadkar said.

Wadkar is set to perform on October 20 at NJ at the Balaji temple auditorium in Bridgewater.

Wadkar said his upcoming concert, Safarnama, will include such incidents and stories.

He is slated to recount special memories of the history and anecdotes connected to his songs, along with other sweet and sour experiences of his film singing career.

Music is a very important aspect of life for Wadkar, who said in a 2012 interview with the Hindustan Times, “Music has the power to connect with nature, be it people, animals or plants, so we have to save it. Melodies would be and should be back to heal people from stressful lifestyles and various diseases.”