An Interview With Deepa Narayan

From being an airhostess, Deepa Narayan has come a long way. She is now the top notch-producer of Bhojpuri films. A chat with the filmmaker ...

How did you start your singing career?

From an early age I had desired to see two places. One was Bombay, because I wanted to get into crooning that I knew could be achieved here, and second-London, because I wanted to see the Buckingham Palace. In one word, I craved to become a famous person. Having set the above in mind, I came to Bombay 25 years ago. Luckily, I got a job with Air-India as an air hostess. Though I was very happy travelling around the globe, my wish to become a singer was constantly appeasing me. I was a great admirer of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle and aspired to sing like them one day. Suddenly there came a lifetime opportunity to cut a Nepali album Hamro Geet in which I got a chance for the first time in 1979 to sing along with Udit Narayan. The recording quality was so good that from then all Nepali filmmakers started recording their songs in Bombay.
What about your association with Uditji and when did you start singing Hindi songs?

Having sung for a couple of more albums, I fell in love with Udit, after which we got married in 1982. Life was going on fine with Udit making rapid strides on the music scene. I vividly remember that it was in 1989, when Udit was at his peak. He was called to perform in many shows around the country. Once we had gone to Kolkata to take part in three shows of which two shows were limited to a capacity of around 2000-3000, but the third show which was held at the Netaji Indoor Stadium drew a much larger crowd. We had hired a local band and singers to perform. The second show was going on but when it was the turn to sing the duet ‘Ae mere humsafar...’ from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, the female singer’s mike gave way and the song had to be cancelled. I got extremely disturbed. To my dismay, the same thing happened the next day. When the female singer who was to sing the number forgot her lines.
Was it then that you stepped in?

Yes, I made up my mind to sing the number along with my husband but before that I sought permission from him. Once I was given the go-ahead, I went to my mother’s place near Kalibari and rehearsed my lines all night. The next day I sang the song for the first time with Udit in public. Next time when one organiser, Todon Ghosh, from Kolkata came over to negotiate for some shows, I asked him if he had seen the last show we performed titled ‘The Land of Joy’. Upon affirmation, I queried whether the girl who sang with Udit could also be part of the programme? They never recognised me because on stage I was Deepa Jha.But when we went for a particular show at Malda in West Bengal, giant posters reading Udit Narayan and Deepa Narayan greeted us. From then on, I have been regularly singing with Udit, both in India and abroad. Till now, I have done over three thousand shows.
When did you start singing in films then?

Music director Babul Bose heard me in one of the shows and signed me for my first Bengali film Mon Mane Naa. From then on, the doors to singing in films were flung open and I started singing in many languages. I have so far sung in Bhojpuri, Oriya, Maithili, Gujarati and Telugu besides Hindi.
What made you turn producer?

(Giggles) You see I am a keen observer. Travel-ling with Udit to places like Fiji, Mauritius, Holla-nd and Trinidad, I noticed that there were many people there who couldn’t speak Hindi but spoke broken Bhojpuri. At one of our shows in Mauritius, I learnt from organiser Naresh Gajadhar that many people there were originally from India. Their great-grandfathers had come to Mauritius over 100 years ago on the temptation of getting gold and money by the then French rulers, the condition being that if they did not work properly, they would be killed. Today those very people rule the country. Impressed by the talks, I hit upon an idea to make my first Bhojpuri film Kab Hui Gawna Hamaar which went to become a super-duper hit. After this, Bhojpuri film producers started shooting their films abroad.

You have also made another Bhojpuri film.

Yes, I then made Kab Kahaba Tu I Love You starring Amar Upadhyaya, Gul Hamid, Yukta Mookhey and others directed by Anand Ghatraj. This film was a moderate success but I had expected it to be as big as my previous film.
What are your future plans?

For a change I am making a Nepalese film titled Darjeeling Ki Cheli, Kathmandu Ka Jamai. The plot comes from the feeling in the people of Kathmandu that though people came to Darjeeling from Nepal 100 years ago there’s a lot of difference between them. But I am determined to prove them wrong. Take my family’s case. My great-great-grandfather came to India from Nepal about 150 years ago and he was then the first Nepali Magistrate in India. My father was the DIG in the Intelligence Bureau and being a devout music lover he started a trend to have modern music in Nepali language.
Tell us something about your son Aditya?

Aditya has made a place for himself by singing songs which people have liked immensely. He is now the darling of the masses and is currently hosting Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. What he now needs is all the blessings from his fans and listeners.
Do your in-laws live with you?

Yes, they have been happily staying with me since a long time. I take them to every place of pilgrimage all over the country.
Finally how would you sum up your career?

My life started with hope and ambition and now I am enjoying the fruit in anticipation of more name and fame.