Like fashion, food habits or even the weather for that matter, music keeps changing, whichever part of the world you are in. It all depends on what people are ready to listen to at that particular time and that depends on the trend that is predominant then - drums and bass or trance or hip-hop. I believe, there's good music and there's bad music. Technically, there was a stage in the '80s when the music was terrible.

The industry was besieged by lyrics with double meanings and cheap dance sequences. We are still suffering the results of that phase. There was such bad music in Bollywood that people lost faith in Hindi film music. We are now trying to repair what can only be described as a smashed car. Now people have become more aware. There is easier access to international music. On radio and TV, suddenly your song will be played after Sting's. I am talking about talented musicians who want to make a difference, who want to maintain the melodic aspect of Indian music.

Which brings us to the singers. In today's age of experimental and young, open music minds, playback singing is much more accessible than it was in the yesteryears. Learned singers are going to prosper. Singers who are trained and can sing in 'sur'. When I mean learned, I don't mean experienced. There are many experienced singers who've made it big with one hit but sing like they're searching in the dark, not knowing what they're doing. They are the real strugglers, because they struggle in the studio, where it takes them hours to get in a line. We listen to every single demo that comes to us. We encourage new talent. Yes, the stakes are high. We have to fight to convince the producers and directors to trust us when we put forth a new voice. But now after 'Dil Chahta Hai' and 'Kal Ho Na Ho', we have credibility. I believe that a fresh voice adds freshness to the melody. You know, in 'Lakshya', the chorus in 'Mein aisa kyun hoon', is sung by our studio engineers and technicians. It's a mad song... and it demanded a note of madness. I say, listen to all kinds of sounds. Today's young playback singers should listen to music other than from Bollywood. They should learn to listen and adapt the best of all sounds. Every sound is music. Listening is today's guru.

Shankar Mahadevan

Name: Mahalakshmi

Claim to fame:

'Baahon mein chale aaon' - (Remix)

'Kabhi shaam dhale' from 'Sur'

'Ishq khudai' from 'Rudraksh'

'Pakhi pakhi' from

'Dil Se'

'Hindustani' from 'Dus'

'Chalka chalka' from 'Saathiya'

'Yeh dhuan' from 'Charas'

'Tum kaho to' from 'Shaadi ka ladoo'

'Pyar mein sau uljhanein' from 'Kyun Ho Gaya Na'

Advertising V/s Movies: "My first professional assignment was a jingle for a commercial. In the advertising world, they are always on the lookout for fresh talent and more accepting of it. I am not saying it is not so in the movie industry - it's just that the film industry tends to play it safe because the stakes are higher. There's so much money involved, no one wants to take chances. So they stick to people they know will deliver. I feel that every singer has something fresh to offer and the ad world respects that.

I sing along to : Ghazals and jazz, another passion.

My mantra : I learn whatever I can and put it into my music. I listen to a lot of music and am able to grasp subtle things that I hear and incorporate them into my work. I try and give each song my perspective. If the director likes it, he can put it in, if not... it's his call. If I'm working with Shankar (Mahadevan) or Vishal (Shekhar) or Rahman, they always welcome your take. Rahman is so spontaneous himself, he'll always say, 'Try something'. Shankar usually knows what he wants but if I give it my twist, he'll say, 'Hey that's nice'.

My best : 'Kandukondein kandukondein' (Title track). 'Kabhi shaam dhale' ('Sur'). 'Dhuan' ('Charas').

Training : I've learnt Hindustani classical from the age of 12.

Versatility : I can adapt to foreign language songs easily. I've sung in French, Russian, Nepali, Arabic, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Assamese, Bengali, Khasi, Bhojpuri, Garhwali, etc. I've sung with Deep Forest for a single called 'India' and with Talvin Singh for 'Ha'."