‘I have never chased money. Yes, you have to pay me my worth. I am not a free artiste but I don’t chase money.’
Key Points
- Leslee Lewis credits Asha Bhosle for bringing life to the songs in their Rahul & I album, despite his composing them.
- He promoted KK as a singer, introduced by Hariharan, leading to the successful album Pyaar Ke Pal.
- Leslee stopped doing remixes after Janam Samjha Karo, an original composition, was mistakenly identified as a remix on Kaun Banega Crorepati.
- He later returned to remixes with Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein due to industry insistence, which became a hit.
Leslee Lewis is a name that conjures nostalgia.
Since the 1990s, the singer-composer — sometimes with his Colonial Cousins partner Hariharan — has filled our playlists with songs and remixes, and also given us jingles that we remember till date.
One of his best works is the album he made with Asha Bhosle, Rahul & I, a beautiful ode to Rahul Dev Burman. But an incident led to his stepping away from remixes.
“It is thanks to Kaun Banega Crorepati,” Leslee tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf on The Rediff Podcast.
“There was a question, ‘Which of these is Asha Bhosle’s remix song?’ and the answer given by the contestant was Janam Samjha Karo. I felt bad because it was my original song, passed off as a remix. After that, I felt I should not do remixes as I would be called as a remix artiste. I stopped doing remixes after that KBC episode.”
Later, however, he created a remix album on the insistence of his friends and music companies, and the 1970s song Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein became a huge hit.
“In the entertainment industry, the searchlight captures you on stage and makes you famous. I don’t run after the searchlight,” he says.
Leslee also speaks about his first album Haseena, and promoting KK — who was introduced by Hariharan — and how they made the hit album, Pyaar Ke Pal.
Interview: Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff
Video Production: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff, Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff
Editing: Saahil Acharekar/Rediff
