Crinkly eyes, sing-song voice, tilted neck, a raised hand…bizarre mannerisms but those that made Rajesh Khanna a superstar. In fact, the original superstar of Hindi cinema. So much so that when he smiled, women went weak in their knees, when he sang those stupendously popular songs, people’s hearts fluttered, and when he romanced beautiful heroines, love was redefined. When he passed away on July 18 this year, the whole nation seemed to be humming ‘Na koi umang hai…’ Friday Review November Fest will get into a flashback mode to pay a tribute to the king of romance.
Singer-of-several-chartbusters Srinivas along with a vibrant young team that includes National award winner (for ‘Roobaroo’ from Rang De Basanti ) Naresh Iyer, the talented Madhushree (best known for ‘Kabhi Neem Neem’ from Yuva ) and the promising Saptaparna Chakraborty (STAR Voice of India 2 finalist) will recreate the Rajesh aura that once drove fans wild. The singers will be accompanied by a 16-member orchestra.
The evening will present evergreen romantic Kishore Kumar numbers such as ‘Kora kagaz tha yeh man mera’, ‘Roop tera mastaana’, ‘O mere dil ke chain…’, which can still make your heart skip a beat while the high-on-emotion ‘Chingaari’, ‘Kuch toh log kahenge’ and ‘Zindagi ka safar’ leave you misty-eyed. Remembering Rajesh promises to pay a nostalgic tribute to the star through some of his best-known solos and duets. It’s time for another Shaam Mastaani …
Srinivas
Is ‘Remembering Rajesh’ a walk down memory lane for you?
Undeniably. These are songs I have not only grown up with but those that inspired me to make music my life’s goal. Kishore Kumar, the voice of Rajesh Khanna, became my dream mentor. We refer to these songs as gems because of the incredible combination of music, lyrics, voice and picturisation.
They continue to soothe people in their private space and are the essence of shows that enliven evenings for lovers of Hindi film music.
How difficult was it to choose from the long list of songs that defined Rajesh Khanna’s career?
Not easy at all. In fact it’s hard to encapsulate Rajesh’s life in a two-hour show; to arrive at a final list of solos and duets.
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