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Playback is the fusion of two very personal memories. | 0:00:08 | 0:00:12 | |
First memory - | 0:00:12 | 0:00:14 | |
I used to listen to a Hindi film song over and over again | 0:00:14 | 0:00:17 | |
called Dum Maro Dum, | 0:00:17 | 0:00:19 | |
and in the middle of it was this Asian woman | 0:00:19 | 0:00:22 | |
singing incredible jazz riffs in a really deep voice | 0:00:22 | 0:00:25 | |
and I've always remembered it. | 0:00:25 | 0:00:26 | |
She's called Usha Uthup, by the way, and she's fantastic. | 0:00:26 | 0:00:30 | |
Second memory was watching All About Eve, | 0:00:30 | 0:00:33 | |
which became one of my favourite films, | 0:00:33 | 0:00:35 | |
and I was really fascinated by the relationship | 0:00:35 | 0:00:37 | |
of an actor to the understudy | 0:00:37 | 0:00:39 | |
and, in this case, a playback singer to the star. | 0:00:39 | 0:00:42 | |
That whole idea of couples that are tied to each other, | 0:00:42 | 0:00:44 | |
need each other, but don't necessarily like each other. | 0:00:44 | 0:00:48 | |
The result is Playback, and I hope you enjoy it. | 0:00:48 | 0:00:51 | |
Now, many of you probably know | 0:00:53 | 0:00:55 | |
that the Bollywood film industry is the biggest in the world, | 0:00:55 | 0:00:59 | |
making global superstars | 0:00:59 | 0:01:00 | |
of the all-singing, all-dancing actors who star in them. | 0:01:00 | 0:01:03 | |
What you may not know is that most of these actors | 0:01:03 | 0:01:06 | |
don't actually sing any of their songs, | 0:01:06 | 0:01:08 | |
they "mime" to playback singers, | 0:01:08 | 0:01:11 | |
who literally become the beloved voice to the famous face. | 0:01:11 | 0:01:14 | |
So, ahead of tonight's sold-out Bollywood Spectacular | 0:01:14 | 0:01:17 | |
at the 02 arena, | 0:01:17 | 0:01:19 | |
I'm delighted to welcome its biggest female star, Priya Patel, | 0:01:19 | 0:01:22 | |
and her playback singer, Mala Mistry. | 0:01:22 | 0:01:25 | |
She's not here. | 0:01:27 | 0:01:28 | |
Erm, she just running a little bit late, I'm just hearing. | 0:01:28 | 0:01:32 | |
But welcome, Mala, I'm sure that we can fill time before she arrives. | 0:01:32 | 0:01:36 | |
Oh, no, no, no. I don't usually do the interviews without Priya Madam, | 0:01:36 | 0:01:41 | |
she doesn't like it. | 0:01:41 | 0:01:42 | |
OK, right, but I'm sure our viewers would be fascinated | 0:01:42 | 0:01:45 | |
to hear your wonderful story. | 0:01:45 | 0:01:48 | |
My...story? | 0:01:48 | 0:01:51 | |
Yes, yes, you know, how you became the voice | 0:01:51 | 0:01:54 | |
of the biggest superstar in India. | 0:01:54 | 0:01:56 | |
I'm sorry, people usually close their eyes | 0:01:56 | 0:02:00 | |
when I open my mouth. | 0:02:00 | 0:02:01 | |
Tell me, how did you develop your talent? | 0:02:02 | 0:02:05 | |
- Was that at school? - School? | 0:02:05 | 0:02:08 | |
School was a living hell for me. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:11 | |
People laughed at me when I said I wanted to sing. | 0:02:11 | 0:02:14 | |
Right, that was because of the... | 0:02:14 | 0:02:17 | |
Why was that? | 0:02:17 | 0:02:18 | |
How do the heroines sing in our movies? | 0:02:18 | 0:02:21 | |
High. | 0:02:22 | 0:02:23 | |
Simpering sopranos with their tinkly laughs and tiny waists, | 0:02:23 | 0:02:28 | |
panting around trees like pre-pubescent morons | 0:02:28 | 0:02:31 | |
waiting to be caught by the hero | 0:02:31 | 0:02:33 | |
because, God forbid, any respectable woman | 0:02:33 | 0:02:35 | |
should look like she wants to be caught. | 0:02:35 | 0:02:37 | |
So they develop this girlie descant | 0:02:37 | 0:02:40 | |
because that's how men think every virgin should sound. | 0:02:40 | 0:02:43 | |
I am a natural alto. I have never sounded like a virgin. | 0:02:44 | 0:02:48 | |
That and my slight facial-hair issue | 0:02:48 | 0:02:51 | |
meant I got called some very unfortunate names. | 0:02:51 | 0:02:56 | |
- Like what? - Man... | 0:02:56 | 0:02:58 | |
Oh. | 0:02:58 | 0:02:59 | |
Big-balled, hairy man. | 0:02:59 | 0:03:01 | |
"Show us your balls, hairy man!" | 0:03:01 | 0:03:04 | |
Until that day when a group of my so-called friends | 0:03:04 | 0:03:06 | |
tried to rip off my trousers to see if I, in fact, did own a pair. | 0:03:06 | 0:03:09 | |
That's why I've worn a sari ever since. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:13 | |
- Is there any sign of Priya? - And then I discovered jazz. | 0:03:13 | 0:03:17 | |
Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughan and Bessie Smith - | 0:03:17 | 0:03:20 | |
real women who sounded like... real women, | 0:03:20 | 0:03:24 | |
their voices deep and dark as their pain. | 0:03:24 | 0:03:28 | |
So I wore my sari and I sang the blues. | 0:03:28 | 0:03:31 | |
I think I would have gone absolutely mad | 0:03:31 | 0:03:34 | |
- if it hadn't been for... - Me! | 0:03:34 | 0:03:36 | |
I am so sorry, everyone. | 0:03:36 | 0:03:39 | |
My driver got hopelessly lost on the way here, | 0:03:39 | 0:03:42 | |
and I had to do my make-up in the car, I must be such a mess. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:45 | |
- Darling! - No, you look wonderful | 0:03:45 | 0:03:48 | |
SHE GIGGLES Stop it! But enough about me. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:51 | |
Has Mala been telling you | 0:03:51 | 0:03:53 | |
how I rescued her from a seedy jazz club? | 0:03:53 | 0:03:55 | |
Well, it wasn't seedy, as such. | 0:03:55 | 0:03:57 | |
Yes. | 0:03:57 | 0:03:59 | |
She was singing for her supper, literally. | 0:03:59 | 0:04:02 | |
And I just happened to be passing by on my usual evening charity route, | 0:04:02 | 0:04:06 | |
feeding these hungry little street urchins, | 0:04:06 | 0:04:09 | |
when I heard this...noise. | 0:04:09 | 0:04:12 | |
Voice. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:14 | |
Noisy voice. | 0:04:14 | 0:04:15 | |
So unusual. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:17 | |
And I knew at once | 0:04:17 | 0:04:18 | |
that if something like that came out of my mouth, | 0:04:18 | 0:04:21 | |
people would remember me. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:23 | |
Of course I got Mala to be a little less weird, | 0:04:23 | 0:04:26 | |
because I didn't want to sound like an actual freak. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:28 | |
But what we ended up with | 0:04:28 | 0:04:30 | |
was a voice that went totally with my face - sexy chocolate. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:34 | |
Yes, please. | 0:04:34 | 0:04:35 | |
Sorry? | 0:04:36 | 0:04:37 | |
That's how my voice... | 0:04:37 | 0:04:39 | |
MY voice. | 0:04:39 | 0:04:41 | |
..put to my face, has been described as. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:45 | |
I'm known as the Sexy Chocolate Girl. | 0:04:45 | 0:04:46 | |
Wow, sex and chocolate - | 0:04:46 | 0:04:49 | |
everyone's two favourite things. | 0:04:49 | 0:04:50 | |
SHE GIGGLES | 0:04:50 | 0:04:52 | |
I'm a celibate diabetic, so not really. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:56 | |
Right, yeah. | 0:04:56 | 0:04:58 | |
Not yours. But, er, listen, it's been a perfect partnership, hasn't it, | 0:04:58 | 0:05:03 | |
for both of you, really? | 0:05:03 | 0:05:04 | |
Priya, a shelf-full of awards over the last decade, | 0:05:04 | 0:05:09 | |
and, Mala, well, I'm just looking to see | 0:05:09 | 0:05:12 | |
exactly how many solo albums you've clocked up. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
Well, Mala doesn't really need to compete with other playback singers. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
You wouldn't need to, do you, darling? | 0:05:18 | 0:05:21 | |
Well, I wasn't allowed to, was I, madam? | 0:05:21 | 0:05:23 | |
But remember that contract you made me sign all those years ago? | 0:05:23 | 0:05:27 | |
Oof, what would I know about that? | 0:05:27 | 0:05:29 | |
I'm just the talent. | 0:05:29 | 0:05:31 | |
Which forbade me from singing solo or with anybody else. | 0:05:31 | 0:05:35 | |
Did it? | 0:05:35 | 0:05:37 | |
Why would you need to? | 0:05:37 | 0:05:39 | |
That contract ran out finally. | 0:05:39 | 0:05:41 | |
Yesterday. | 0:05:41 | 0:05:43 | |
And today... | 0:05:43 | 0:05:45 | |
you can buy this - | 0:05:45 | 0:05:47 | |
Finally Me. | 0:05:47 | 0:05:49 | |
Do you think it's a catchy title, madam? | 0:05:49 | 0:05:52 | |
Finally..You! | 0:05:54 | 0:05:56 | |
Too sweet. | 0:05:56 | 0:05:58 | |
Good luck. | 0:05:58 | 0:05:59 | |
People love my voice, I know that. | 0:05:59 | 0:06:01 | |
Without this? | 0:06:01 | 0:06:03 | |
Anyone can learn how to sing. | 0:06:03 | 0:06:05 | |
But we all know the camera doesn't lie. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:07 | |
However much you beg it. | 0:06:07 | 0:06:10 | |
Am I right, sweetie? | 0:06:10 | 0:06:12 | |
Yes... | 0:06:12 | 0:06:14 | |
Or no. Erm... | 0:06:14 | 0:06:15 | |
Let's talk about tonight's concert. | 0:06:15 | 0:06:19 | |
I have to rush, but I'm sure that Mala | 0:06:19 | 0:06:21 | |
will keep all of your viewers entertained | 0:06:21 | 0:06:23 | |
with her fascinating stories and without little old me. | 0:06:23 | 0:06:26 | |
Don't be late for dress rehearsal, | 0:06:26 | 0:06:27 | |
the weather's playing havoc with the buses. | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
I love you all! | 0:06:30 | 0:06:33 | |
I have my backing track with me if that helps fill time. | 0:06:35 | 0:06:39 | |
Yes, yes. Let's go ahead with that. | 0:06:39 | 0:06:42 | |
Er, so here we go - a world exclusive sneak-preview now | 0:06:42 | 0:06:46 | |
- from Lama Mistry... - It's Mala. | 0:06:46 | 0:06:49 | |
It's Mala. From Mala Mistry's new album. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:53 | |
I'd like to dedicate this song | 0:06:54 | 0:06:56 | |
to the person who has been my other half for many years. | 0:06:56 | 0:06:59 | |
The parasite to my host, | 0:06:59 | 0:07:01 | |
the yin to my yang, | 0:07:01 | 0:07:02 | |
the ping...to my pong. | 0:07:02 | 0:07:04 | |
The face to all my songs... | 0:07:04 | 0:07:08 | |
up until now. | 0:07:08 | 0:07:10 | |
# They say that love is blind | 0:07:10 | 0:07:12 | |
# But I wasn't smart | 0:07:12 | 0:07:14 | |
# The prettiest face can hide a pus-filled heart | 0:07:14 | 0:07:17 | |
# The sunniest smile can be scabbed with lies | 0:07:17 | 0:07:20 | |
# Priya's a bitch with the soul of a witch and lumpy thighs | 0:07:20 | 0:07:24 | |
# She says she's an orphan | 0:07:24 | 0:07:26 | |
# Who's been lucky and good | 0:07:26 | 0:07:28 | |
# And now that she's blown everybody in Bollywood | 0:07:28 | 0:07:31 | |
# She's never paid tax | 0:07:31 | 0:07:33 | |
# Has all of her fat sucked out with a hose | 0:07:33 | 0:07:35 | |
# And everything she earned last year went straight up her nose | 0:07:35 | 0:07:39 | |
# You're just jealous You sad-faced cow | 0:07:39 | 0:07:43 | |
# Not any more | 0:07:43 | 0:07:44 | |
# With your pathetic lies and monobrow... # | 0:07:44 | 0:07:46 | |
I've had laser surgery! | 0:07:46 | 0:07:48 | |
# ..I'm the sun to your shadow I'm your daily bread | 0:07:48 | 0:07:50 | |
# Without me you're nothing | 0:07:50 | 0:07:52 | |
# Without me you're dead! | 0:07:52 | 0:07:55 | |
# If I could just rip off your face | 0:07:55 | 0:07:57 | |
# And put it on to mine | 0:07:57 | 0:08:00 | |
# Everything would be fine | 0:08:00 | 0:08:03 | |
# Let me rip off your face | 0:08:05 | 0:08:08 | |
# Let me rip it off Let me rip it off | 0:08:08 | 0:08:11 | |
# Let me rip it off Let me rip, rip it off... # | 0:08:11 | 0:08:14 |