Amit Kumar, Sudesh Bhosale celebrate Kishore Kumar’s birthday with a special concert

It was an evening of non-stop Kishore Kumar hits as the legendary singer's family, friends, pupils and fans got together to celebrate his birthday (August 4) this weekend at Mumbai's Sri Shanmukhananda Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Auditorium.

(L-R) Sumeet Kumar, Leena Chandravarkar, Amit Kumar, Reema Ganguly cut the cake to celebrate Kishore Kumar's birthday
The show aptly titled ‘Aaye Tum Yaad Mujhe’ witnessed the audience turn nostalgic as perfromers took a walk down the memory lane with their renditions of Kishore Kumar hits.

Stalwart performers including Amit Kumar, Sudesh Bhosale, Alok Katdare, Bela Sulakhe, Priyanka Mitra, Saptak Bhattacharjee and Srijit Banerjee took up an avatar of the singer and showcased his tracks. What made it all the more special was the presence of the members of Kishore Kumar family including Leena Chandavarkar, Sumeet Kumar Ganguly, Reema Ganguly and Amit Kumar Ganguly’s daughter Muktika Ganguly.

(L-R) Alok Katdare, Bela Sulakhe, Srijit Banerjee, Priyanka Mitra and Saptak Bhattacharjee
“Aaye Tum Yaad Mujhe – Avatars, featured songs that my father sang. And this time I had chosen songs that were lesser heard. There are so many songs that are unique but didn’t get the popularity and I picked these and went for roads less travelled. Sudesh sang songs that my father sang for Amitabh Bachchan, while I sang songs that were picturised on my father. Like Husn Bhi Hai Udaas, Udaas from Fareb, Bhole Balam a hilarious solo from Padosan and so on. This does not happen often, because I rarely get the opportunity to perform such songs. There were so many stories behind many of these songs. I shared many such anecdotes with the audience, and they appreciated it,” said Amit Kumar.

Songs like Chil Chil Chillake, Husn Bhi Hai Udas, Udas (Amit Kumar), Chand Raat (Amit Kumar and Bela Sulakhe), Inteha Ho Gayi (Sudesh Bhosale and Priyanka Mitra), Khaike Paan Banaraswala (Sudesh Bhosale), Mere Sapno Ki Raani (Alok Katdare), Phoolon Ke Rang Se (Saptak Bhattacharya), Mere Umar Ke (Srijiit) brought on the loudest of applause from the audience.

Sudesh Bhosle who is also known for his voice resembling Amitabh Bachchan, performed all the Kishore Kumar songs that featured the iconic Bollywood actor. He said, “It's a privilege to celebrate a genius like Kishore da every time."

Sharing anecdotes on stage Amit Kumar said, “In Padosan the song Bhole Balam wasn’t initially there. It was a scene between my father and associates and during the shoot my father told Mehmood, the producer, that this scene, this particular situation needed a song. My father conceived the song, and Rajendra Kishan ji wrote the lyrics for the same. For the song Koi Lauta De Mere Beete Huye Din, Shailendra ji wrote the mukhda sitting at the Juhu beach and then came to our house Gouri Kunj.”

The event featured the Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Mohit Shastry. Organizer Ritam Saha, one of directors of Theism Events, said, "It's one of our most proud ventures. And this time we experienced a grand response once again in Mumbai."