but not cashing in Unlike many Bollywood playback singers who seem to have carved a niche for themselves by aping singing legend Mohammad Rafi, Mohammad Salamat seems keen to give his own feel to the music lovers, though stating that his love for Mohammad Rafi is eternal. “Mohammad Rafi is my role model in playback singing. I have sung 2000 songs of Rafi. The studio where I recorded my hit ‘Hum Dil Chuke Sanam' (song) was located in front of Rafi's burial ground. I was emotionally involved and touched during its recording. And see, this song was at the number one (spot) in music chart continuously for two years and has won the Filmfare award,” stated Mohammad Salamat in his exclusive interview to Saudi Gazette, during his ongoing visit to Jeddah. “I want to remind music lovers of a time when their favorite music was heightened with Rafi's touch but at the same time, I do not want my listener to be jaded with similarity. I want to sing all sorts of songs for everyone, whether they are romantic, ‘remix', pop, devotional or fast numbers.” Salamat is in Jeddah these days to perform at the “Melodious Golden Nite” event on the auspicious occasion of the 61st anniversary of the Republic Day of India organized by the Indian Cultural Society and Bazm-e-Osmania, Thursday. Despite singing in many modes, Salamat says that “melodious songs have been my favorite. Melody is easy on the ear and its impact is everlasting.” He added, however, that it is important to accept change. “A singer should be flexible to stay in the hearts of music lovers. I agree that some lyrics are sordid in nature these days. We saw huge respect for romance in the meaningful cantos of earlier years, but now we hear the words like ‘ishq kameena' (cursed love) or ‘kambakht ishq' in songs. I am also ready to sing them like others despite my own choice is for melodious and soft songs,” Salamat admitted. “I have sung very difficult songs in Tamil, Telgu, Maliyalam, Marathi, Hindi, Gujrati and English. Other singers can hardly dare to sing my songs.” Salamat's forefathers belonged to the music industry. He got the opportunity to learn classical music within the family from a young age. After learning from his uncles Aqeel Ahmed and Mohammad Asim, he received vocal training from Iqbal Khan Sahib of the ‘Delhi Gharana' and Maqbool Khan Sahib in Mumbai. He arrived in 1997 form Delhi to Mumbai - the “city of dreams.” “Bollywood always welcomes talented people. If you have talent, you will make your place and get a suitable platform. Once you deliver a ‘hit' in Bollowood, you will be a ‘hit' in the world as well,” he remarked. “Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu helped me to move up in the industry. I sang for many TV serials and worked with (music directors) Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Ismael Darbar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali etc. I sang for T-series as well and its song ‘Mujhe Tera Dewaana Bana Diya' stayed at the number one position on the MTV chart.” “Wo Chand Jaisi Larki Is Dil Pe Cha Rahi Hai” from “ the film “Devdas” was another big success. He told Saudi Gazette that very soon, a collection of fast numbers remixed on old songs will be in the market, along with the upcoming “Wo Mera Ho Ga” album from Tips series and a solo album from Venus. He has sung with female co-singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Shreya Ghoshal, Suniti Chohan, Jaswander and Alka Yagnik. His magical melodious voice takes everyone into a trance. He has won a number of awards such as the “All India Best Singer Award” by Sangam Kla Group in 1994, the Mohammad Rafi Award (given by another melody king Noshad), an award by music director Usha Khanna, and an award by Anu Malik in 1996. “Despite the fact that I was not enough lucky to be part of any reality show in the initial stage of my career, I have been privileged to sing for good music directors, composers and lyricists. I have gotten international appreciation and have been doing concerts worldwide,” he said. “Reality shows are bringing good opportunities for new singers, as they get fame easily though it. However, I have witnessed that many of the ‘heroes' of reality shows have proven to be ‘zeroes' in playback singing where they have to face a sensitive and powerful mike without any extra music support. Today, musical interludes help playback singer.” Salamat has had his bitter share of reality shows. “There was a conspiracy against me in the ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' show on Zee TV,” he discloses. “I was taken out of the show in 1994.” Salamat his here to do Umra and confesses that he is very happy with the prospect. “This was my dream and my visit to the Kingdom is the most significant trip I've ever had,” he stated. “I am so happy to have gotten the opportunity to be a part of the celebration of India's republic day in Jeddah. I expect encouragement from Jeddah's audience. Once in South Africa, an elderly fan took me to home and told me to be seated in a special solitary chair in which Mohammad Rafi sat once. I felt so honored. There is no alternate to public encouragement, liking and acceptance.”
