Shreya Ghoshal

Mandar's concert report

Attended a concert of Shreya Ghoshal. Shreya was accompanied by male singer Kinjal Chatopadhyaya and supported by a number of musicians. Abhishek  (Keyboard), Prasanna (Flute), etc. The program was anchored by Sahil. This concert was organised by India Social and Cultural Center on 16th Nov 2018 at ISC rooftop. I attended the concert with Mane, Patil, Oak families, Priya, Santosh, Aditi and Mihika.

Concert started with Kinjal, who set the stage for Shreya's entry.  He sung three songs 'Tere mere sapne', 'O mere dilke chain' and 'Tuhi re'.

Shreya made her entry with a shimmering silver evening gown. She started with 'Kahate hai diwani Mastani to gayi' from film Bajirao Mastani. She has won Filmfare and many other awards for this song.  She followed it with 'Bahara bahara' from film I hate luv stories,  'Jadu hai nasha hai' and 'Tum mile dil khile'.

She then sung songs of Rahman 'Aja main Bahron mein' and 'Muze sans ayi'. Then they sung 'Manwa lage'  from film Happy New year, 'Main tenu samzawan ki', 'Shukran Allah' from film Kurbaan, 'Tere masta masta do nain' from Dabangg, 'Main wari jawan' and 'Dhire dhire' from movie Tango Charli. To appease majority local audience she also sung two Malayalam songs back to back. 

She then sung 'Rabta' from movie Agent Vinod followed by 'Pinga' from film Bajirao Mastani. Audience enjoyed this song very much. 'Barso re megha' and 'Ye ishq hai'. 'Nagare sang dhol baje' from film Ram Leela was the last song before she took a break. 

Kinjal filled the gap of Shreya"s absence by singing mukhdas of various songs like 'Aj janeki jid na karo', 'Ranjish hi sahi', 'Abhi na jao chodkar', 'Eshan tere hoga muzpar' and 'Kehna hai'.

Shreya reentered with a section dedicated to old songs. It was a medley of 'Chaudhvi ka chand', 'Wo sham kuch ajib thi', 'Kabhi kabhi', 'Aapki nazron ne samjha', 'Ab to hai tumse', 'Kya janu sajan', 'Aa Janejan', 'Piya tu ab to aaja' and 'Dum maro dum'. Speciality of this section was that she started every song unconventionally from antara, not mukhda. Shreya sung this section mostly on chords and audience sung with her. She then reluctantly moved to new songs of her own.

'Zubi dubi zubi dubi' from Three idiots, 'Karle maiden fateh' from Sanju, 'Uh lala' from film Dirty Picture, 'Radha teri chunri' from Student of the year, 'Chikni chameli' from Agneepath and 'Ghoomar' from Padmavat.

She then sung another Malayalam song in seven beats and turned back to Hindi with 'Teri meri meri teri prem kahani' of film Bodyguard. Then she moved back to regional with a Tamil song of Rahman and a Kannada song. 

In the last section she sung 'Tuzmein rab dikhta hai' from film Rab ne banadi jodi, 'Teri ore' from film Sing is king and then Bengali 'Ekla chalo re' of Rabindranath Tagore, 'Lagja gale', 'Sun raha hai' from Ashiqui 2 and concluded the concert with 'Mere dholna sun' from film Bhool Bhulaiya.

Shreya has a beautiful voice and She is an accomplished singer. Although she had the ipad on stand,  she hardly looked at it for lyrics,  she had them by heart. Even the non Hindi ones. Kinjal is also a very good singer and we will see more of him in future. 

Sahil, the anchor, tried to say a number of Shers, but many of them were poorly composed or not really rhyming. They sounded more Gadhe (गधे) than Sher (शेर).

Shreya made a faux pass in the beginning by thanking ISIS instead our ISC, but quickly rectified. She announced names of musicians but we were not able to pick all the names in the melee. Concert was supposed to start at 9 pm, but stated an hour late.

Lights on stage were overdone. Moreover, too many times harsh lights were thrown on audience, hurting eyes. It was irritating. Sound system was good but the audience at the very back complained that they could not hear clearly. 

Seating arrangement left a lot to be desired. We were seated half way down the seating area and the stage was at the same level as us,  so we were hardly able to see the stage relying on screens and ears. A graded arrangement is a must when the audience is more than thousand. 

All the songs were good and popular. Shreya is an excellent singer and musicians were good too. So the concert should have been wow! But somehow,  I felt that something was missing. Can't put a finger on it. Open air did not help either. 

Entertainment rating 7/10.

Swardeep sandhya (स्वरदीप संध्या)

Attended a concert titled "Swardeep sandhya (स्वरदीप संध्या)", a concert of Marathi songs. Vishwajeet Borwankar, Arohi Mhatre, Jeetendra Tupe were the singers and they were accompanied by Amit Gothivrekar (Keyboard), Sachin Bhangre (Side rhythm) and Ratnadeep Jamsandekar (Tabla, Dholki, Dholak and Dhol). The program was anchored by Amit Kakde. This concert was organised by Maharashtra mandal Abu Dhabi on 9th Nov 2018 at Abu Dhabi Islamic Cente. I attended the concert with Thangaokar, Mane, Patil, Sambhaji, Oak, Kamble families, Aditi and Mihika.

Concert started with Ganesh vandana, 'Sur niragas ho (सूर निरागस हो)' from Katyar kaljat ghusli by Jeetendra.

Arohi sung Ali mazya ghari hi Diwali (आली माझ्या घरी ही दिवाळी). Vishwajeet then presented Man mandira (मन मंदिरा) again from Katyar kaljat ghusli. He sung it in his style. Audience applauded and provided clap rhythm for this. Jeetendra sung a very famous song of Sudheer Phadke Toch chandrama nabhat (तोच चंद्रमा नभात). Arohi sung Zulvu nako hindola (झुलवू नको हिंदोळा) and followed it with Brahma Vishnu ani Maheshwar samori basle (ब्रह्मा विष्णू आणि महेश्वर) from film Amhi jato amuchya gava which transformed into Bhakti medley with Khel mandiyela (खेळ मांडीयेला), Kanada Raja pandharicha (कानडा राजा पंढरीचा), Abir gulal (अबीर गुलाल) and Zenda rowila (झेंडा रोविला).

Vishwajeet presented Baglyanchi malphule (बगळ्यांची माळफुले), originally sung by Vasantrao Deshpande, composed by Srinivas Khale and written by Va. Ra. Kant. Arohi then sung Suresh Bhat's gazal Tarun ahe ratra ajuni (तरुण आहे रात्र) composed by Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar. This sad song was an odd note in otherwise festive atmosphere. Although the song is excellent and Arohi sung well,  it could have been avoided. To celebrate the occasion of Bhaubij, Arohi presented Wedya bahinichi wedi hi maya (वेड्या बहिणीची वेडी ही माया) on demand.

Adiwasi geet section was the last section before interval. They presented three songs. Jambhul piklya zadakhali (जांभुळ पिकल्या झाडाखाली), Amhi thakara thakara (आम्ही ठाकरं ठाकरं), Lingobacha dongur (लिंगोबाचा डोंगुर). Percussionists got free rein in this section.

First song after interval was famous Lakh lakh chanderi (लखलख चंदेरी). This one was a low key affair. Mala wed lagle premache (मला वेड लागले प्रेमाचे) was next. One very old and one new song.

Concert then moved to masti mood with Ajay Atul section. Vishwajeet and Arohi presented famous song Jeev rangala (जीव रंगला) from film Jogwa. Ajay Atul got national award for this song. Arohi presented my favourite Gorya gorya galawari (गोऱ्या गोऱ्या गालावरी) from film Tuzya mazya sansarala ani kay hawe. This was probably the best song of the concert. Mauli mauli (माऊली माऊली) drew immense audience applause and audience co-sung the chorus. Attach baya ka bawarle (आत्ताच बया का बावरलं) was presented next.

Then they presented a unique song. Awdhoot Gupte's qawwali of Ganapati bappa in movie Morya. This is first ever Ganapati qawwali. Vishwajeet sung this qawwali. I had not heard this qawwali earlier. It was good.

Concert of Marathi songs can not be complete without Lawni. Lawni was imperative. Ratnadeep got his 5 minutes of fame in the opening Dholki piece. It was followed by percussion sawal jawab followed by immortal Tuzya usala lagal kolha (तुझ्या उसाला लागल कोल्हा). Four ladies and little girls from audience danced impromptu on this rhythmic lavni. This set in motion various dance performances by audience including yours truly.

It was gents' turn to display their dancing skills on song Navri natli (नयरी नटली). Ladies joined in too, then how can children remain behind?

This was followed by rapid fire Gondhalala ye (गोंधळाला ये). Theme song of movie Jogwa. Another song of Ekveera Devi. Baghtoy rikshawala (बघतो रिक्शावाला) and Mhawryacha laglay naad (म्हावऱ्याचा लागलाय नाद). Audience gave way to their natural instinct of dancing,  even if they did not know how to dance. It was an enjoyable moment.

Concert ended with the Marathi song that has become a national hit, Zing zing zingat.

Vishwajit is a good singer. The firat in his voice and his classical training is evidenced in his singing.

Jeetendra involved the audience by encouraging them to clap,  wave hands,  wave mobile torches etc. He also sung well.

Arohi started on very shaky ground. She appeared rusty and out of touch. I was worried, but she gradually caught up as the concert progressed.

Purcussionists and key board player provided the accompaniment aptly. Ratnadeep packed away Tabla at interval and played dhol and dholak mostly. Ajay Atul effect!

Amit Kakde did a decent job as anchor.

In general first half was dedicated to melody and second to fast and rhythmic songs that make you shake a leg.

Temperature in auditorium was chilly. Audience got first hand experience of what it would feel in a refrigerator.

All in all an enjoyable evening.

Entertainment rating 7.5/10.