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Jayachandran hits back at critics of ’outsider’ Shreya 

 Story Dated: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 16:25 hrs IST 

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File photo: Music director M. Jayachandran and singer Shreya Ghoshal.

They are one of the most succesful singer-composer pairs in Mollywood. A song is said to be a sure hit, if it's sung by Shreya Ghoshal and the music is composed by M. Jayachandran.  They are also the most controversial of the lot with several young play-back singers hitting out against Jayachandran for being obsessive with Shreya's voice and ignoring local talent.

The bitterness over their association is so 
strong that some singers even do not talk 
to him. "Few days ago, the moment a singer
 saw me she turned her chair and sat away 
from me.  It's very hard to deal with their 
attitude. Senior singers are practical and 
they don't have any problem," he says.
 According to Jayachandran artistes like 
Chithra chechi and Sujatha chechi often
calls and appreciates him, when they hear 
a good song by Shreya. "I don't know why
 these young singers are disappointed with
 me when I am not the one who even introduced Shreya to Malayalam cinema," says Jayachandran.

In an exclusive conversation with Malayala Manorama, Jayachandran opens his mind on the truth behind 
these allegations and his association with Shreya.

Did you ever spend money from your pocket to make Shreya sing?

The only time I paid out of my pocket was when I wanted a specific singer for one of my song, which the producer did not allow. There are some allegations that I paid out of my pocket to Shreya in the movie "Chattakari". It was producer G Sureshkumar who paid her.

Those who are trying to crucify me in the name of Shreya should understand one thing. She has sung only

 nine songs composed by me. All of them were hits and this is why people think she has lot of songs. Its because of her talent that these songs become a hit. The song "nilave... nilave.." from the movie "Chattakari" was heard by more than two lakh people in Youtube. The only movies I made her sing was "Banares", "Rathinirvedam","Pranayam", "Mannikyakallu" and "Chattakari".

I have introduced many singers to Malayalam cinema. Its Shreya's attitude towards work and her 

dedication that makes many of us choose her. Some of the young singers lack this. If you consider 

these qualities, there is no one who is in the same level as that of Shreya. Manjari and Shweta are 

two singers who come real close.

Shreya's voice suits most of my songs. Its just like the way Yesudas used to sing for Raveendran. 

I am not going to stop selecting Shreya for my songs just because others are unhappy.