Mumbai, Nov 7 — Legendary playback singer Kumar Sanu, who has collaborated with his friend, and professional rival Udit Narayan for the song ‘Suniyo Zara’, has shared that he had no idea who he would share the mic with.
The veteran singer spoke with IANS at his house in the Andheri West area of Mumbai during the promotions of the song. He shared that he didn’t know about the finer details of the song till he reached the recording room.
He told IANS, “Actually, I didn't know which actor I was singing for or who was singing with me. I didn't know that. So what happened was that the music producer asked me if I would like to lend my voice to a song, and I said yes. So I went and found out that a song was being composed for this year's film ‘Suryaa’. I asked him, ‘So, who is singing with me?’. He said, ‘Udit sir was singing and another guy was singing’”.
“So I was very happy because it’s our old friendship. We have done a lot of work together. So now there is a new opportunity. So I was very happy and in the end, the song was good, it was composed well and it was done”.
While Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan have been the arch-rivals professionally, their friendship is one of the most talked about in Hindi film music. Both ruled the Bollywood of the 90s, and dominated Hindi film music, competing for songs and the distinction of being the preferred voice of leading actors.
Udit Narayan rose to prominence with ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’, while Kumar Sanu’s breakthrough came with ‘Aashiqui’. Kumar Sanu won 5 consecutive Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer between 1991 and 1995, before Udit won for ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’. Both singers have maintained that their equation was never defined by personal animosity. Udit described them as professional rivals without acrimony, while Kumar Sanu called it healthy competition. They also collaborated on popular songs such as ‘Neend Churai Meri’ and ‘Dil Ne Yeh Kaha Hai Dil Se’.
‘Suniyo Zara’ has been released under the label of Zee Music Company.