EXCLUSIVE | Saba Azad: 'Very often, people call me for a playback song on the day of the recording'

Saba Azad has been acting on stage for a very long time and also been a part of the Hindi film industry for more than a decade. She’s a director too, very well known for her plays and the woman can sing and compose too. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, when asked about the similarities or differences in these crafts, she shared, “They all are performing arts at the end of the day. They blend really beautifully. Preparation for all of these means practice and rehearsal. Different art form can have different creative process but the root of it is similar. I started music and acting together as I was born into a theatre family.”

She has crooned the title song of Farzi that’s nothing less than being an absolute banger. She talks about the discussions with the directors Raj and DK regarding the music of the show. “Sachin-Jigar, who are the music composers of the show, were in touch with Raj and DK. These guys had an idea but I came into the studio when the song was ready. I just had to come and sing it. I only was in touch with Sachin and Jigar and when I heard the song, I knew it was a banger. The instruction that I was given for the song was ‘Go Crazy’. I don’t know what that means but I was like okay,” shared Azad.

Given she’s a composer and singer herself, has she ever given her own inputs to the makers of a show or any film? She revealed, “When I go as a playback singer, it’s someone else’s vision. The idea is to go there and give your best. I don’t bring by own inputs. Sachin-Jigar were very collaborative in that aspect. They are very open to inputs.”

Azad also spoke about her process of Riaz for a song. “Vocal practice is something that happens almost daily. But very often, people will call you for a playback number on the day of the recording. People say ‘What are you doing? Are you free? Just come for this number.’ I’m like okay I’ll come.,” she revealed.

On the kind of music that’s being made today, she opined, “We are exposed to so many more sounds, new sounds as compared to when we were children. Earlier, we used to get CDs or cassettes, we had Planet M, or the radio. Now, I can listen to music being made in Argentina and someone in Greenland can listen to my music, so our ears have opened up to so many places. A lot of mixing of genres and coming together of things has happened which is incredible. But creatively, I feel sometimes that are we borrowing from the sounds that we have already listened to.”

And what is the kind of music she enjoys listening to? She said, “There’s no particular kind. I can listen to Indian classical, I can listen to Western classical, I listen to folk, rock, Hardrock, metal. I listen to all kinds of stuff.”

Her 2011 film Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge is a charming, fun and frothy take on social media love and attraction. It came at a time when Instagram was merely a year old, Twitter was yet to see the popularity it enjoys today, and Facebook was the coolest app on mobile phones. She revisited that film and spoke about how she looks back at the world they created 11 years back. Saba said, “I’ve seen that film twice, once at a screening and the second time during the release as my friends wanted to see it. Yes, I still get messages about the film. It’s always going to be a special project for me always.”

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