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: Sunitha Sarathy

Claim to fame:

'Khuda Hafiz' (Hindi, Tamil and Telugu) from 'Yuva'

'Fanaa' (Hindi, Tamil and Telugu) from 'Yuva'

'Habibi' from 'Tehzeeb'

'Seduction Saavariya' from 'Boom'

'If the show fits' from 'Bollywood Hollywood'

'Warriors of peace' from 'Warriors Of Heaven And Earth'

'Thoodu Varuma' from 'Kakka Kakka'

No conventional rules: "I have no formal training in music. I come from a musical background... my talent is the Lord's gift to me. I have never wanted to get voice trained either as I feel that certain characteristics in the voice could be lost by specialised training. And I never was the type to get pinned down by rules and classes... I was busy playing in the dirt and climbing trees.

A lot of my film work has been with Rahman : He's a genius (Gosh! I know I sound like every other person talking about him). He's also a wonderful person - simple, devout, and funny. He knows exactly what he needs. I knew 'Fanaa' would be a hit. In fact in that song, I do vocal bits over Rahman Sir's voice. I felt like I was gliding over a beautiful place. He lets you experiment and at the same time, knows how to get that 100 per cent out of you - even if it's at four in the morning.

Knowing what's good for me: With experience, a singer will know what's good, bad and ugly for her voice.When I eat, I avoid cold stuff; I don't like ice cream anyway, so I don't have to fight any temptation. But a careless lifestyle can show damaging results in the next few days. I wish I could rest my voice more though.

I sing along to : Rhythm and Blues (R&B) and Soul and Hip-hop. That doesn't mean I didn't listen to pop. But my influences are strongly R&B. I like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Barbara Streisand - there are so many wonderful voices out there, I can't name them all. I love George Michael and Michael Jackson.

My work mantra : I am picky about my songs. When it comes to picking tunes, I would rather do 20 songs and have six hits from the lot than do 100 songs with six hits.

Some music directors assign songs that do not suit a person's style, range and vocal capabilities. It's important for the voice to be apt for the song. There's no use singing a song and hating it later."