Lapping up unheard strains

Past Forward

Bangalore’s Bollywood buffs and music enthusiasts made their way to JSS Hall recently to spend an evening enjoying old Hindi cinema music.

The event, a musical concert called Dil Tera Deewana, was a tribute to the Kapoor trinity by 7Sur, a musical group.

   The group consists of singers Ekta Shah, Aniket Prabhu, Sheelu Mehta, Ganesh and Shyam. Sheelu talked about the inspiration behind the name, “7Sur easily explains us as a group because music is all about these seven notes, and we’re all about music.
” Explaining to a full-house audience the story behind the title of their concert, lead singer Ekta explained, “The Kapoor family has contributed massively to the film industry, and when we sat down to come up with a name, we realised we were all deewanas of one Kapoor over the other, if not all.

 Hence the name, Dil Tera Deewana.” Aniket commented on the selection of songs for their concert, “We like bringing to the fore songs that are good and popular but are not that commonly played on the radio or television, as much. Those that are ‘unsung’ and ‘unheard’.” 

   Guests and viewers expected nothing less of the group, “I’ve been to 7Sur’s shows earlier and I like their performances, so I thought I’d be there for this show as well,” said Dr Venkatesh, an orthopedic surgeon and a Shashi Kapoor fan. Nataraj, a businessman, added, “The song Dil Ke Jaroke Mein of Shammi Kapoor is a favourite of mine, and I’ve had friends recommend this group. So I thought I’d give their concert a try.” Friends and family thronged the hall as well, “I work with Aniket and he sings in the office as well (chuckles). I’m just here for him, and some good classic Bollywood music.” said Fadi from the US.  

   The event featured music from the movies of Raj, Shammi and Shashi Kapoor, through solos and duets, and a medley by the group, with songs such as Likkhe Jo Khat Tujhe, Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh, Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya, and Ye Chand Sa Roshan Chehra. 

On being asked about the receptivity of the Bangalore crowd, Aniket said, “The crowd here is very knowledgable about the songs that we perform, even if we throw some at them as trivia like ‘Guess the song’. It becomes all the more difficult to perform before such a crowd because the minutest of mistakes are spotted by them. Even musically, they’re very smart and not just Bollywood per se.” Sheelu added, “They’re also very appreciative if a song’s gone good, the response is amazing.”
 Surely enough, a hearty applause and hoots from the audience followed each performance. The members, eased their way through every difficult note, and held a pleasant stage presence throughout, even getting comical at times and the audience applauded every difficult note being conquered by the singers.

 “I’ve attended every show of theirs and I absolutely love them. The concepts they choose each time are very unique and interesting.” said Kamal, a Raj Kapoor fan. “Sheelu and Aniket are my favourites because they put in so much emotion into their performances.” she added.