Bollywood Oldies Hits Mesmerized Music Lovers during the “Tribute to the Legends” show at house-packed Town Hall, with guest of honor Ex-Miss India and celebrity Bollywood actress Poonam Dhillon adding charm to the unique musical extravaganza.
Mangaluru: Bollywood’s journey of nearly103 years has come a long way since its first movie Raja Harish Chandra, a silent film in black and white, was released in 1913. Music and Bollywood are inseparable entwined in passion. Bollywood has songs for all emotions, situations and occasions. From romantic, sad, soulful numbers to ballads with Urdu couplets and trendy English lyrics; Bollywood music has changed tremendously over 100 years- and at present the trend in Bollywood music had changed tremendously. But there is always charm and history for Hindi songs of the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Bollywood cinema favorites were brought to life in this musical array of artists from the coastal city area celebrating the variety of Hindi Cinema. The celebration “Tribute to Legends” took place at the newly renovated Town Hall on Sunday, 29 May 2016 and audiences enjoyed the essence of Bollywood music of yester-years.. It was a celebration showcasing the mesmerizing musical feast to give a glimpse into the evolution and glorious journey of Indian Cinema through rendition of songs performed by Kudla’s talented artists singing the songs sung by Bollywood singers namely Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar and other legendary singers of the past. The principal local singers of Mangaluru comprising of talented melody queen of Kodiyal- Anitha D’souza, Srikanth, Mohammed Shafi, Ranjan and sensational Akhila with their golden and impactful voices enthralled the large crowd that had thronged the Town Hall- the artists received loud applaud from the audience, some even calling for encores.
The principal artists from this coastal town were accompanied by legendary Pappan and group on Live Orchestration. The concert took the audience on a joyous ride when a special piece comprising selected songs from oldest Bollywood films were presented. The event was a fitting tribute to Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle to name a few. The music star of the evening was Anitha D’souza, a versatile singer known as melody queen in the Coastal Area- she has sung with Hindi, Kannada, Tulu and Konkani musical shows. The versatility, style and range encompasses music through playback to light and popular Hindi music rendered by these local singers brought back memories of Hindi popular oldies.
Set against a Bollywood-like stage with large pictures of movie stars starting from Raj Kapoor and others, the main promoter and chief guest of the event, Francis Fernandes-sppe, a entrepreneur from Dubai commented that he was excited to see such a variety of people from different backgrounds and age groups attended the concert. “Thanks for coming in large numbers and supporting this concert. It means very special to me and your presence here is very much appreciated” added Fernandes. Airing her feelings after the inauguration of the concert along with chief guest Francis Fernandes, Poonam Dhillon said, ” Wow-your Town Hall is awesome, and all you folks who have gathered here has made me happy and proud that you all support Hindi music and Hindi movies. I have met and had close encounters with all the legendary Bollywood singers, except Mohammed Rafi, whose songs have been rendered by these artists today. Although this is my first visit to this beautiful city, I would surely come back if Francis Fernandes invites me again. To all you Bollywood fans my sincere thanks and keep patronizing Bollywood movies and music”.
The singers began their performance with haunting melodies from movies like ‘Bobby’, ‘Dard’, Muqaddar ka Sikandar’, ‘Don’, ‘Sholay’, ‘Mera Naam Joker’ and others, mesmerizing the audience with both old hits,winning the hearts of the audience. Srikanth with his powerful voice, kept the crowd entertained, and Shafi and Ranjan, both versatile and dashing singers rocked the stage with their to tribute to Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh with songs of yester-years. Also during the show, Sonali, daughter of singer Srikanth was felicitated for scoring 97 % in PU recently by Poonam Dhillon, along with Zeena Fernandes, wife of Francis Fernandes. There was also prizes for the audience who took part and gave the right answers to the queries posed by the compere Prem pertaining to Bollywood movies/songs.
Leanza D’Souza, a marketing executive with a local radio station compered the show along with Prem, while Pappan and his troupe provided live music. This was indeed a unique music show which was highly liked and appreciated by all who patronized this show.