When it comes to Indipop, looks are what take crooners to fame

When it comes to Indipop, looks are what take crooners to fame
ANUPREETA DAS

New Delhi, July 18: Indipop: It's 10 years old, worth approximately Rs 10 crore and still defies definition, but there's one certainty. It helps if you're good-looking. While there's no denying the fact that one can't compete with real talent, a newcomer who's a looker does have a better shot at instant fame in an industry where wannabe stars are a dozen a melody.

``If earlier, you introduced yourself as a model, now just add the word `singer' to it,'' says music director Sandeep Chowta (composer for Mast and Jungle) dismissively.

Switch on to any music channel for evidence: smart new videos, with PYT crooners or dudes-with-biceps get maximum initial airplay. You might remember how frequently the Models' Jaana Hai Bollywood was aired when it first hit the music circuit, before the girl band split, presumably because even hi-tech studio gizmos couldn't spot their singing talent.

Or look at Sonu Nigam, the male playback singer who went pop with a passion, and has since gone in for a complete image rehaul. In his new avatar as the sportswear-donning, ballad-crooning Pop Star, Nigam immediately became more saleable, and is now even foraying into films.

``Pop stars are icons, so one has to focus on singers with persona, someone who can command stage presence,'' says HMV-RPG's Manish Swarup. He does, however, insist that the more ``serious'' music companies have moved on from signing on good-looking aspirants with minimal singing talent -- which is what happened when Indipop was a nascent industry -- because it's a strategy with no long-term returns.

Enter the pretty and promising Vibha Sharma, the company's new, 20-something find, who is in the city to promote her month-old debut album Mehndi, which has notched up fairly good sales in the north. ``We're interested in good singers who also happen to be be good-looking,'' says Swarup of the newest trend in the Indipop business. The London-based Sharma, with a string of Bollywood songs to her credit, is tried-and-tested studio material, and looks good on screen too.

``There are a lot of girls who look good but don't really sing well,'' says Sharma, though she agrees with Swarup on the fact that ``once over-excited'' music companies have stopped signing on just about any telegenic face.

Of course, the pressure on singers to be hip and with-it is hardly on the wane. With the advent of the music video, hitherto anonymous playback and ghazal singers (Kavita Krishnamurthy, Pankaj Udhas, Alka Yagnik) found an avenue for fame, glamour and recognition. Simultaneously, music companies were faced with a glut of youngsters and the not-so-young, all queueing up outside their doors, audition tapes in hand. ``Indipop, with its low entry barriers and low costs, was suddenly the quick route to glamour and fame,'' explains Swarup.

The surfeit of entertainment channels on Indian television has also meant an increased demand for telecasts of musical `nites' and stage shows, where the dressy Jaspinder Narulas of the music world can wiggle and shake their way to fame super-quick.

The bottomline: if singers aren't performers, they don't sell. For instance, 16-year-old singer Sunidhi Chauhan, who shot to fame with the Ruki, Ruki single from Mast had to wait for her share of the Indipop spotlight for nearly three years, simply because the music company which had signed her on didn't know ``how to position her''. ``Her face didn't match her voice, which is very mature,'' explains a company representative.