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: Sowmya Raoh

Claim to fame:

'Aiyyo aiyyo rama' from 'Jungle'

'Roundhe hai' from 'Pyar Tu Ne Kya Kiya'

'Aankhon mein raho' from 'Company'

'Jeena' & 'Dil hi dil mein' from 'Dum'

'Charas' from 'Charas'

'Bheegi bheegi' from 'Girlfriend'

'Kesariya Balam' from 'Mitti'

'Khoobsurat hai tu' from 'Now That's Sandeep Chowta'

'Hai re hai tera ghunghta' -

Leslie Lewis

'Zara zara' - Jackie V

Waiting my turn : "I'm waiting for that big number that will catapult me to stardom. Being in Mumbai has been great, but sometimes it tests your patience, and drives you to frustration. I feel that the music industry is going through a slump - I am sure that situation is a temporary one, but then all the work goes only to the top bracket of singers and newcomers like me get only the remnants. That's tough. But I know I'm on the right track, and am doing the right thing, so success is not far from where I'm standing.

No raunchy stuff here : I don't believe in grabbing attention by doing raunchy video numbers because then the viewers don't know whether the girls in the video are singers or performers - I will wait for my big moment.

I sing along to : I love the old timers - Noor Jahan, Mohd Rafi, Mukesh, Lataji, Ashaji, and S Janaki from down south. I've grown up listening to Indian Hindi film music and ghazals and I listen to a lot of Ghulam Ali and others from his generation.

I know what's good for me : I love the versatility that my singing has. I like to sing depending on the character, the ambience and the lyrics. The mood and sense of feeling is very important to me. I also believe in doing 'riyaz' every day - sure some days I don't feel like it so I don't push myself too much, but I listen to good music and practise. Like I said, I hope to make it big one day."