Andrew Kishore, the reknowned singer has been in the music industry for the last thirty years or so.He is one of the few singers who has received not one or two, but seven National Cinema Awards. This is seldom seen in Bangladesh, a singer so renowned that his fans -young and old, have been humming his songs for over thirty years now.
Please tell us about your current ongoing projects and works.
I used to be really active in my field at one time. Sometimes I had to sing at least 5 movie songs in a day, while there were times when I even had to sing all the songs of a movie. But nowadays besides singing, I am busy with my business as well.
You are well established as a singer. What made you come to business?
My educational background is in Management. Since every rise comes with a fall, If I am right, it may be possible that I might not have the popularity that I am having right now.I have seen people my age or elder retiring early or being jobless. So keeping all this in mind, I started my business back in 1987.
Please tell us about your business Probah.
Back in 1987, Ahmad Yusuf, Anwar Hossain Bulu, Dolly Johur, Didarul Alam Badol, Shamsul Islam Nantu and I, started Probah. It was prime time for most of us then. It became necesarry for all of us to find a time and place for this.Although in the beginning it was a advertisement firm, now Probah is slowly inflitrating to all sectors of media. This is also a creative firm which I am enjoying side by side of my singing career
Does that mean you have doen everything according to plan?
It is necesarry to have a plan in life. You have to start thinking how far you want to go once your professional career has started. To move forward it is necessarry to work and take new steps everyday. I believe that if you sacrifice something for your profession, your profession somehow gives back to you.
How much have you dedicated to your professional life?
Proyot Sattyasaha had told me in the beginning- if you want to be a singer by profession then be dedicated to it.I have followed that path until the peak point of my career. In my later years however, as a management student I got inspired to be in the business sector. So right now you can say that I am 50% singer and 50% businessman. I am the only singer who never gave his voice for free except for in charity shows; well that's a different case. Other than that, I stick by my professionalism.
Can business and singing proffession work side by side?
I am not as busy a singer now as I was before. When I stand infront of the microphone, then it seems to me that my mind, body and soul becomes dedicated to the song- then I am singer Andru Kishor. When I am back to my business, then I don't think of anything else. There is no conflict in between my two professions.
So what is keeping you busy for the next few days?
I am going to America on 2nd May to take part in the Dhaliwood Awards. The main Cathedral in Norway is going to hold a ceremony on 17th May. I will sing two songs with the National Poly Harmonic Orchestra and will present a fusion of classic and modern number. This is an honor for any singer to be performing there with the Orchestra.
Dhaliwood is often accused of presenting uncensored and slack songs, what kind of songs are coming up nowadays?
There are a lot of good songs nowadays. Ours is a country of five different seasons and sometimes to bring in a lot of revenue in this sector of Cinema, the songs and storylines get derailed. But the good songs win over, since the viewers do not preferred derailed songs.
Audio business is going down. What is your opinion on this?
The main problem of Audio business is piracy. Since there is no technological locking system, at least 50% this sector is going down!
You have been singing for more than thirty years now. How far do you plan to go?
I cannot say how long I am going to sing. As long as God wishes, as long as my body and soul can take it, as long as the audio is sold at a minimum price, I wish to sing that long. There is a physical fitness linked to being a singer. Manna De is still singing and if all is well I will continue to sing. If there is no value in the industry then my singing would stop.
Which songs do you remember the most from your thirty-year career?
There are many songs which I love but 'Daak diyachen doyal amare', 'Bhalobeshey gelam shudhu', 'Haerey Manush Rongin Fanush', 'Amar shara deho', 'Amar buker modhho khane', 'Amar gorur gari te', 'Shobai toh bhalobasha Chae', and 'Porena Chokher Polok' are the kind of songs people will remember the most.