Last week Amitabh Bachchan surprised his fans and admirers with his rendition of Shree Siddhivinayak mantra and aarti on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. The actor was approached by the Siddhivinayak temple trustees, who requested him to lend his voice for the track. Big B, however, downplays his achievement. He says, “The trustees came to me and requested me to sing the aarti and I did it. I am no singer and not trained as such, but the cause was noble and I went ahead. This is not the first devotional song I have sung. Many years ago I did the Hanuman Chalisa, with Aadesh Srivastava and 20 other singers from the industry.”
While the actor has previously sung for a couple of his films, he still doesn’t think of himself as a singer. He says, “Singing is not a career option for me, primarily because it is not my domain, nor am I accomplished enough to make it one. Yes, various stages of my film career have been witness to that odd ditty, but there is nothing more to it.” In fact, he states he doesn’t like any of the songs he has sung. “Non-singers dare not have any favourites. My songs are so non-musical and riddled with endless faults,” he adds.
Amitabh may not want to take this occupation professionally, but he wants to learn Hindustani classical singing. He says, “I wish I could train for this vocation. But there is not enough time left for me to be able to do that with some sense of accomplishment.”
Amitabh admits he misses working with the late Shrivastava, with whom the actor collaborated for a number of songs. He says, “We lost a great music mind in Aadesh. I have lost a dear friend but his presence is felt every time I record at his studio, and we miss him.”
