Legendary playback singer Kumar Sanu has revealed that humour has been his go-to weapon against performance anxiety throughout a career spanning more than four decades — a practice he still follows while recording songs such as his latest, 'Suniyo Zara'. The veteran spoke candidly during a promotional interaction at his residence in Andheri West, Mumbai.

Laughter as a Recording Technique

Sanu explained that cracking jokes before a session has never just been a personality quirk — it is a deliberate, time-tested method. 'I joke a lot. People tell me, your sense of humour is very good and you joke a lot and you do good comedy. So I took care of that,' he said. 'I used to make the atmosphere very easy. I used to make the unknown person recognizable. I used to make the atmosphere and then record it.'

He added that every recording session brought its own set of nerves and unknowns, but his response was always the same. 'Every day there were different fears and different things. But my method was the same, to make a joke and then sing a song. So, I applied the same,' Sanu said. The approach, he noted, has held for over 40 years — a remarkable consistency that speaks to both his temperament and professional discipline.

The Gulshan Kumar Era: A Golden Chapter That Ended Abruptly

Sanu also reflected on the seismic impact of music mogul Gulshan Kumar's assassination on the Hindi film music industry. His remarks were pointed and personal. 'It was bad. Till the time he was here, it was a golden era for Hindi film music,' he said.

He credited Gulshan Kumar with abilities that went far beyond commercial instinct. 'He was not just a music lover or a businessman but much more than that. He had so much clarity in his mind that he could predict that music would work. He knew how to take music publicly and how to spread it worldwide,' Sanu said, noting that no one has since matched those capabilities. 'No one had all these techniques better than him. Even today, no one has it.'

Sanu did not shy away from the personal dimension of that loss, describing Gulshan Kumar as a true mentor figure. 'I am not saying he is my godfather, he is my godfather. But if you see, after Gulshan ji's death, the industry changed completely,' he added.

What This Reflects About the Industry

Sanu's comments arrive at a moment when nostalgia for 1990s Hindi film music is enjoying a fresh wave, driven by streaming revivals and retro playlist culture. His longevity — with thousands of songs recorded — makes him a rare living archive of that era. Notably, his continued presence in studios suggests that the golden-era playback format, often declared obsolete, retains both audience and commercial relevance.

With 'Suniyo Zara' now in promotions, Sanu appears as committed as ever to the craft that defined a generation of Indian cinema.