The lingering charm of unforgettable melodies

In memory

Some of S D Burman’s greatest hits were performed by Divya Raghavan, Sinchan Dixit, Biju Nair, Hitesh Mehta, Raja Dutta Gupta and Abhishek Mukherjee, who are part of the troupe.  Babloo Mukherjee, the man behind the show, said, “Sachinda’s songs linger in your mind for years together. These are songs that are based on pure melody and are quite a challenge for a singer. In this tribute we are not looking at imitating his singing, but will add our own interpretation to it,” he added. Babloo, who possess a voice quality similar to that of Hemanth Kumar, enthralled the audience with his rendition of Sun Mere Bandhu Re, so much so that he had to return on stage to repeat a paragraph, to cater to the large roar of ‘once more’ from the audience.

The other highlight of the evening was Sinchan Dixit rendition of Raat Akeli Hain. It is believed that when Asha Bhonsle was recording the song, she was unable to get the right emotion and S D Burman gave her the analogy that the tone of her voice needed to be similar to the whispering game that kids play; where they begin by silently whispering in each other’s ear and suddenly shriek out to scare the other person and break into peals of laughter.

It was amazing to see Sinchan sing this song with same playfulness. Hitesh Mehta anchored the event as well won hearts with a Mukesh number Oh Jaane Wale Ho Sake To Laut Ke Aana from the movie Bandini.

He also kept giving audiences trivia about S D Burman and created the right mood for the song through some soulful shayari. The other highlights of the evening included Megha Chaye by Divya Raghavan, a romantic duet Kora Kaagaz Tha Yeh Man Mera by Divya and Raja and Chod Do Anchal by Sinchan and Abhishek.

Dr Salim enthralled the audience with his wonderful rendition of Jalte Hai Jiske Liye.  Salim and Rajesh Rathi were the two guest singers in the troupe who held the attention with their invigorating numbers.  The second half of the show saw Biju Nair, mesmerising everyone with Khoya Khoya Chand from Kala Bazaar. The troupe sang close to 30 songs, each one better then the other and left the audience craving for more.