Jadu hai nasha hai…

SANDIP HOR is captivated by the music of Shreya Ghoshal.

I became a fan of Shreya Ghoshal after hearing her golden voice in the film Pareneeta – the gentle number Piyu Bole simply captivated me. She is one of those talented singers who touch your mind afresh every time you hear her, no matter how many times you have heard her before.

Perhaps that was in the mind of the crowd who overruled the winter blitz and congregated at the Hills Centre in Castle Hill on 21 August, to be part of Shreya’s second live performance in Sydney, after that scintillating maiden show at the prestigious Opera House in 2008, where it was just veni, vidi, vici for her: she came, she saw and she conquered.

Shreya, as we know, has become a household name in the world of Bollywood music. She catapulted into fame in 2002, after her debut in the film Devdas where she sang the songs for the character Paro, portrayed by the legendary Aishwarya Rai. Her honeyed, silky voice that suits romantic sequences most appropriately soon mesmerised music lovers all over the country.

Born to a Bengali family, she grew up in Rawatbhata, a small town near Kota in Rajasthan where her father worked with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.

As a child, she participated in the Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma song contest and drew the attention of famous music director Kalyanji who judged the competition. He persuaded her parents to move to Mumbai, so that Shreya’s talent could get much closer exposure to Bollywood. That was the right advice, because while competing second time for the Sa Re Ga Ma contest in the adults category, the famous film director Sanjay Leela Bhansali spotted her and gave her a break in his classic film Devdas. Her success here built the stairs for her rise to the top.

She is now only 26, but has already lent her voice in over hundred films, several of which have been box office hits, her songs being a contributing factor for that. Her phenomenal appearance in Bollywood happened at a time when the industry was pondering whether the legendary Lata could ever be replaced – today there is no hesitation in any quarter to proclaim her the ‘melody queen’ of the new generation.

Thanks to the organisers, the program started on time, but unexpectedly. Three local artists came on first: they were good singers, for sure, but perhaps not the most fitting to open at a high profile soiree, particularly with a dazzling top performer like Shreya, where the audience undoubtedly arrives with a very high level of anticipation.

Shivprasad Mallya, the male singer accompanying Sherya did his best to liven up the dampened spirit with a couple of high energy songs just before the star of the night came on stage. Even then the mood did not spring forth till Shreya, realising the droopiness, swang into action with that lilting hit Chini kum chini kum. And this sweetener introduced the desired momentum into the evening!

After that, it was one hit after another in a simply fabulous playlist: Jadu hai nasha hai (Jism), Tujme rab dikhta hai, (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi), Teri ore (Singh is King), Piyu bole (Pareenita), Thode badmash (Saawariya), Pal pal har pal (Lage Raho Munna Bhai), Yeh ishq hai (Jab We Met) and Tumi je aamar (Bhool Bhulaiyaa). That golden melodious voice, blended with tremendous control over the domain of music, testified superbly to her countless honours, including no less than four National Film Awards.

As the evening progressed she slowly captured the audience with the range of moods her songs rendered, from being sensuous to rocking, clapping and tapping.

I felt that the gap between her two halves, almost an hour, was too long: it served, sadly, to disconnect the audience from the lingering melodic tempo that was stylised in the first half. Still, comedian Nitin Bhandarkar’s performance was enjoyable, particularly his impersonation of stars like Dev Anand, Amol Palekar, Manoj Kumar and Abhishek Bachchan.

Shreya’s second half presentation, starting with a bang, included smash hits like Barso re (Guru), Zoobi doobi (3 Idiots), Dhum taana (Om Shanti Om) and Salaam-e-Ishq (Salaam-e-Ishq). But when it unexpectedly ended up into a series of regional songs, I thought it loosened the pace and impetus of the glamorous evening. She soon ended the program with her evergreen song Dola re (Devdas), perhaps leaving many with the disappointment of not hearing from her, many more of their favourites.

Apart from her honeyed and silken voice, Shreya’s strength in capturing the audience, is her on-stage manner: filled with modesty, friendliness and a down-to-earth quality, she presents herself as “one of yours” in a very humble way, and I think that quality makes her an exceptional performer, someone not only wonderful to hear, but charming to watch as well.

In this instance, she was no different. In between songs she ceaselessly engaged with the audience, prodding them to sing with her, making every effort to make the evening truly memorable.

Shreya Ghoshal was brought to Sydney by AusBan Media

Sandip Hor is a freelance columnist and a Member of the Foreign Correspondents Association (FCA), Australia and South Pacific