Bollywood songstress wins hearts with an enthralling performance
It was indeed a mesmerizing night for Sri Lankan Bollywood enthusiasts, where their musical dreams came to life with the melodious voice of the singing diva, Shreya Ghoshal.
Fans gathering at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on September 8, were all agog, waiting to be engulfed in a memorable vocal extravaganza performed by India’s most celebrated female playback singer of recent times.
Shreya got her live performance off on a high, singing ‘Dewani Mastani’ from the box office hit– an Indian historical romance Bajirao Mastani for which she won the award for Best Female Playback Singer at the Filmfare Awards 2016.
Clad in an elegant pearl white gown, she swept gracefully on stage, and brought forth a romantic collection of all time favourited dedicated to ‘ishq,’ ‘pyaar,’ and ‘mohabbat, synonyms for ‘love.’
The audience was carried away with her songs ‘Bahara,’ ‘Agar Tum Mil Jao,’ ‘Jaadu Hai Nasha Hai,’ and ‘Saans Mein Teri’ from the movies I Hate Luv Storys, Zeher, Jism and Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
Shreya’s versatile vocal renditions were paired with her co-performer, Bollywood playback singer Jaydeep Bagwadkar. He gave a soulful rendition of ‘Samjhawan’ –about a besotted lover from the movie Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, which he dedicated to all the broken hearts in the audience.
It was onto some toe-tapping beats when Shreya sang the duet ‘Manwa Lage,’ from the movie Happy New Year and ‘Yeh Ishq Haaye’ from Jab We Met, for which she won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer in 2007.
A little bit of Shreya magic in Colombo. Pix by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi
She enthralled the audience with popular hits of ‘Pinga,’ from Bajirao Mastani and ‘Nagada Sang Dhol’ from Raam –Leela, both composed by veteran film director, producer and music director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
Shreya’s utmost respect for the outstanding music composer A.R.Rahman, was celebrated through the song ‘Barso Re,’ from the movie Guru.
The second segment unfolded with Shreya paying tribute to her favourite voices in the Bollywood playback singing arena, who have inspired her career in many ways as she sang ‘Aa Jane Jaan’ and the evergreen hit ‘Lag Jaa Gale’ originally sung by the legendary Lata Mangeshkar paired with Asha Bhosle’s ‘Piya Tu Ab To Aaja’ and ‘Dum Maro Dum.’
The night was taken a notch higher when Shreya got the audience hyped up with ‘Zubi Dubi,’ ‘Ooh La La (Tu Hai Meri Fantasy)’ ‘Radha’ from the movies 3 Idiots, Dirty Picture and Student of the Year.
Turning her concert into a sing-along, Shreya gave a rendition of popular Bollywood pop-folk number ‘Chikini Chameli,’ from the movie Agneepath.
The audience energetically joined in the popular Sinhala hit, ‘Gedara Hitiya Rosa Kekula’ that got a unique touch with Shreya’s flamboyant voice.
Showcasing exquisite music renditions of A.R.Rahman, Shreya sang the Tamil cover ‘Munbe Vaa En Anbe Vaa’ from the Tamil film Sillunu Oru Kaadhal.
Popular hits ‘Teri Meri,’ ‘Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai,’ and ‘Teri Ore’ were followed by the songs of newly released movies, ‘Ghoomar,’ from Padmaavat and ‘ Kar Har Maidaan Fateh,’ from Sanju.
Shrikant Sudam Pabrekar, Abishek Babaju Mestry, Sanglap Sengupta, Rajeev Prasanna, Umkant Balakrishna Parab , Ganesh Bhau Thorat, Jobin Joshua David, Abishek Pradeepkumar Dasgupta and Jairaj Shrikant Joshi were the musicians backing Shreya at the show.
Bringing her show to a thrilling climax, Shreya sang her signature cover, much loved by her fans, ‘Sunn Raha Hai’ from the movie Aashiqui 2 for which she won the IIFA award for the Best Female Playback Singer in 2014.