Gurdas Maan still sees playback singing as one of cinema’s great emotional tools. In an ETimes interview published October 29, the Punjabi music veteran said a playback voice can bring a character to life, even as singers understandably seek room to experiment and express an identity outside film soundtracks.
His answer avoids a false choice between tradition and independence. Playback, independent music and new technology can coexist, Maan suggested, but the work lasts only when melody, meaningful words and emotion remain at its centre. The same principle shaped his measured response to remixes.
Playback should leave room for the artist
Maan described playback singing as a significant part of India’s musical tradition because it gives a film “an emotional voice.” That idea places the singer inside the storytelling process: the performance is not simply a track added to a film, but a way of carrying a character’s feeling.
He also recognised why singers may want to step beyond that role. Artists have a natural desire to explore, experiment and establish their own identities. For Maan, the productive answer is mutual respect among singers, composers, lyricists and filmmakers. Whether a song belongs to a movie or an independent album, he said, its purpose is ultimately to connect with listeners.
That emphasis is particularly relevant to Punjabi cinema, where songs often travel well beyond the films that introduce them. Maan did not offer sales figures or make a claim about every singer’s working conditions. His point was creative: collaboration becomes stronger when none of the participants is treated as incidental.
Remixes have to remember what they inherit
Maan was equally unwilling to dismiss remixes as automatically inferior. A new arrangement can introduce an older classic to younger listeners, he said. But a memorable song contains more than a reusable tune; it carries the emotion, poetry and experience of the time in which it was created.
His test follows from that history. A remix should honour the original spirit rather than strip it away. Maan encouraged young composers to draw from musical heritage while creating something new, treating cultural roots as material for growth instead of a restriction on modern work.
He extended that thought to Punjabi music’s expanding global audience. Modern sounds and commercial success have a place, in his view, but lyrics should still make room for depth, dignity and variety. Technology can help an artist reach listeners around the world; viral attention alone does not determine whether a song will retain meaning after the trend passes.
Maan’s October 29 remarks are therefore less a rejection of change than a demand that change carry memory. Playback can serve a screen character without confining a singer. A remix can reach a new generation without emptying an old song of its history. In both cases, respect for the people and poetry behind the music is the standard he refuses to trade away.
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