Carving a non-filmi niche

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I met a delightful young man on a flight to Delhi. He introduced himself as Rodney Fernandes.

“In Goa, when you throw a stone it either lands on a pig or a Fernandes,” laughed the resident of India’s party capital. Rodney was travelling to Delhi for a show with his nine-member band. “I discovered that I could sing when I was very young. Academically I was poor but my singing was good. Although I did not have any formal training I knew this was going to be my profession because it was my passion,” he said.
Rodney started singing at bars when he was 15. That was about 13 years ago. When he was still in his late teens he started singing at the erstwhile coffee shop Palms in Mumbai at the Oberoi. His gig was slotted for the Sunday brunch, once a very popular time among Mumbai’s fine-diners. During one such performance, he was invited by some diamond dealers present to sing at a wedding in Antwerp.
“When I was first handed that much of money I was so thrilled and encouraged,” he says. “We are performers not just singers,” he asserted. “What about Bollywood?” I asked him. After all, the film industry is the ultimate goal for most people with showbiz interests. He shook his head saying: “I don’t like Bollywood. People think that if you have a magical voice, that is all they need for a show. And the rest of the culture in that world (Bollywood) is painful. Sometimes people there make you wait for hours, months or years just for you to get heard. You have to run around saying ‘Sirji’ till you are mentally exhausted and discouraged. I decided I don’t need Bollywood. I will be successful creating my own world.”
And Rodney did just that. When he sang the Amitabh Bachchan picturised song Jahan Teri Yeh Nazar Hai to the Big B himself, when spiritual guru Deepak Chopra called him to sing for his daughter’s wedding, when he performed one evening for the Australia and India cricket teams as Sachin Tendulkar joined him for the Queen hit I Want To Break Free — he knew he was successful.
“None of the Bollywood singing stars inspire me. I am inspired by Madonna, Freddie Mercury and Micheal Jackson. These are performers. They not only sing and make great music but entertain,” he said enthusiastically.
Rodney explained how he feels he reigns in the entertaining business because he relates to people. “During a show it is not only about getting lost in your own voice but reaching out to people. People love us. And we work through love,” he said.
He produces his own shows and keeps reinventing his own mixes. “There have been evenings when a couple of us are meant to entertain an audience. On these occasions, many a time established leading singers have been asked to cut their performance short so Rodney could be on,” he said matter-of-factly. He was brimming with faith, faith in himself and the fact that he works with his own rules; not be dictated by either TV shows or Bollywood.
Incidentally, he was approached to do a TV show. “It was not my scene” he shrugged. “I do want to represent India in festivals abroad,” he said. “I used to struggle and as a family we hardly met our expenses. Today I feel and absorb my gratitude in silence as I sit in my palatial penthouse apartment. I have no words,” he said emotionally. “Achiev-ement comes from never stopping to learn. It comes from respecting the people who love you and not blindly following people who are just names. That is like losing your way,” said Rodney.