JOIN USThe International Arts and Cultural Foundation recently celebrated the birth anniversary of legendary actor Rajkumar as well as renowned singer P B Srinivas at Sevasadan in Malleswaram. The programme, which was called ‘Houseful’, was aptly named — a huge crowd turned up for it. Dancers performed to popular Rajkumar songs and the audience could be seen humming the tunes as well. A roaring success, the programme was attended by many people from different parts of the City, who had come to celebrate the birthday of their favourite actor.
The programme started with a prarthana geet by Deepthi Srinath. After this, Shama
Krishna performed a beautiful bharatanatyam piece to a popular semi-classical song by Rajkumar from the film Kalavathi. For those who attended the programme, this was a walk down memory lane. Vyjayanthi, a senior member of the audience, admits that the rendition of this song nearly moved her to tears. “This song has made me extremely nostalgic. I used to listen to it when I was a teenager and it transported me back to those years when life was uncomplicated. I remember dancing to this song at a family function,” she explains.
Many others in the audience could be spotted singing along and reminiscing about days gone by. There were many unique aspects to the event. For instance, the invite was designed like a movie ticket and the banners in the auditorium gave the audience a feel of a cinema theatre. Sathyanarayana Raju performed to the number Bagilanu Theradu sung by late P B Srinivas, which was a wonderful piece showcasing both bhakthi as well as abhinaya. Anuradha Vikrant, with her flawless style, also performed to a song from the movie Kalavathi. This was followed by Shivaranjani Harish’s stint on the stage — the audience got a glimpse of her acting skills with her abhinaya piece, which was based on Lalilesadhlu Madhana from the movie Deviru Kota Thangi. The highlight of the programme was the dance by young artiste Nayana Somayaji, who performed to a song from the movie ‘School Master’.
Nalini R, a student, had come to watch the show with her mother. “My mother is a huge fan of Rajkumar and has seen almost all his movies. I wanted her to come and see this programme and we really enjoyed the show,” she notes.