Kumar Sanu has revealed that he had to make some tough choices while working in Bollywood during the 1990s. The singer, who was behind several of the decade’s biggest romantic hits, said he made it a point to avoid songs that he felt crossed the line into vulgarity. However, he admitted that pressure from the industry did make him give in on a few occasions.
Speaking to Zoom, Kumar Sanu looked back at the kind of music that was being made in the 1990s. While the decade is remembered for its memorable melodies, it also had its share of songs that did not age well. The singer said he always tried to keep his own work away from that space.
“One of my principles was that I would not bring vulgarity into my songs. But there were one or two instances where I failed to stick to this because I was under such pressure that I felt I had to sing them, otherwise things would not work,” the singer said.
Kumar Sanu also opened up about the pressure he faced from what he called the “movie mafia”. He said that refusing certain songs may have cost him professionally, but he was still comfortable with the choices he made.
The singer shared, “I have one or two such songs. One or two songs of mine, like ‘Raj gaya tabla tabele mein…’, fall into this category. Apart from that, I have always avoided outright vulgar songs, as they are called, and I still do. I have stuck to this principle till today. Toh usmein ek cheez hoti hai ki pata nahi mera nuksaan toh bahut hua lekin I don’t mind. (I may have suffered a lot of losses because of it, but I don’t mind).”
Kumar Sanu became one of the most popular playback singers of the 1990s. He sang for several major films and worked with leading composers and actors. Some of his best-known songs include Mera Dil Bhi Kitna Pagal Hai, Tum Mile Dil Khile, Ab Tere Bin, Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain and Aankh Hai Bhari Bhari.
