BY KALYANI VASAN
LAWNDALE, CA- Kavitha Krishnamurthy was truly the icing on the cake or should we say the ‘ras’ in the rasgulla at Dakshini.org’s Durga Puja celebrations in Los Angeles. The after dinner concert on Oct 13 held at the Centinella Valley Performing Arts Center here had close to a thousand fans listening to Bollywood’s beloved singer...
LAWNDALE, CA- Kavitha Krishnamurthy was truly the icing on the cake or should we say the ‘ras’ in the rasgulla at Dakshini.org’s Durga Puja celebrations in Los Angeles. The after dinner concert on Oct 13 held at the Centinella Valley Performing Arts Center here had close to a thousand fans listening to Bollywood’s beloved singer...
who has delivered hits composed by Rahul Dev Burman all the way down to Ismael Darbar in Devdas.
The concert was a true musical concert in all its purity. There were two singers- Kavitha and Raju and the accompanying band. The stereotype dancers in skimpy costumes, over the top computer-generated neon signs, fireworks and distracting background screens were all invisible. What was visible was a musical genius regaling her audience. Krishnamurthy proved that even in this day and age of overwhelming visual aids, pure music can still rule.
Clad in a lovely orange south Indian silk sari, Krishnamurthy began the concert with a `Durga Stotram’ or dedication to the Goddess Durga and stated that she feels extremely honored to sing at a Durga Puja which is observed during Navratri and that her musical journey began with winning a prize at a Durga Puja competition. In her humble manner she announced, “I think that is when my family and others felt that I could sing.” It was this fateful discovery that made Krishnamurthy who wanted to be an Indian Foreign Service officer, become an advertisement jingle singer and dubbing artist in Mumbai. Veteran musical stalwarts such as R. D. Burman, Hemant Kumar and Manna Dey saw the potential in her and began promoting her. Her first name given at birth was Sharada, but, Hemant Kumar renamed her Kavitha and the name stuck.
Krishnamurthy’s meteoric rise was not quick or spectacular, she dubbed for many years for greats like Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle in the 1980’s before she got opportunities to become a solo playback singer. She explained that she would record the original songs composed for a movie for the shoot. However, the final film album version would be in Lata or Asha’s voice. Her luck changed when her rendition of Mr. India’s ‘Hawa Hawaii’ was used even in the final film album and film!
The Dakshini concert opened with Raju singing two songs. Krishnamurthy then took over the night singing one hit song after another. She frequently alluded to her ‘Bengali connection’ which began with her close association with a Bengali aunt.
The mega hit 1942-A Love Story catapulted Krishnamurthy to the top echelons of Bollywood’s musical elite. She sang “Pyar Hua Chup Kaise” with her clear, sweet voice setting the mood for a concert that was truly a musical journey into her career spiced with some wonderful recollections that she shared about her associations with the industry’s top musical names. Krishnamurthy’s longest musical association was with the duo Laxmikant Pyarelal and together they delivered multiple hit songs that are considered musical gems even today.
Krishnamurthy then sang ‘Dheemi Dheemi Gaye’ from Zubeida and ‘Rhim Jhim Rhim Jhim’ accompanied by Raju from 1942. Both these songs being soft romantic melodies, had many tapping their feet but, when she belted out “Nimbuda de Nimbuda” the Rajasthani folk-based hit from Hum Did De Chukke Sanam, many in the audience danced along the aisles while others gave her a standing ovation. Her other mega hit song “Bole Chudiya bole Kangana” from Karan Johar’s Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gam once again had the audience up in dance and foot tapping and clapping mode. Krishnamurthy then interspersed these fast-moving songs with a spiritual song sung by Manna Dey and also a mischievous Bengali song. She proved that she was at ease singing in both languages. However, singing in multiple languages has never been a challenge for her as she has the track record of recording 1800 songs in her three-decade career in 60 languages! Her first film song hits were actually sung in Kannada.
Krishnamurthy obliged the audience by singing some of their requests such as ‘Tu hi Re’ from the film Bombay while paying tribute to the male version sung by Hariharan. She also sang ‘Dola re Dola re’ from the Bengali epic Devdas which was made in Bollywood. Her most charming characteristic seems to be her modesty and her ability to acknowledge the talent of her peers as well as past musical stalwarts, while taking the audience on a journey down memory lane as well as divulging the inner workings of Bollywood music. She highlighted the mastery of the composition “Aaj me Upar, Asman Neeche” praising Jatin Lalit and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri. At one point she stated that she must have been a Bengali in her past life although she now is a Tamil Brahmin with deep links to Bengal and its musical and culinary culture. She concluded the program by singing ‘I love my India, Watan mere India’ from the film Pardes.
Dr. K. P Chaudhury was the guest of honor. As a strong supporter of Dakshini.org Chaudhury honored Krishnamurthy with flowers.
Krishnamurthy was accompanied by software professionals stationed in the US and their dedication was evident in the melodious sounds they rendered. Perhaps, the biggest take away from the concert was that beautiful music does not need gaudy dancers, backdrops, pyro tech effects or gimmicks to be enjoyed. Krishnamurthy’s concert was music in all its beauty and simplicity while she herself was the epitome of dignity and melody. (Abhisek, Dutchak Photography)
The concert was a true musical concert in all its purity. There were two singers- Kavitha and Raju and the accompanying band. The stereotype dancers in skimpy costumes, over the top computer-generated neon signs, fireworks and distracting background screens were all invisible. What was visible was a musical genius regaling her audience. Krishnamurthy proved that even in this day and age of overwhelming visual aids, pure music can still rule.
Clad in a lovely orange south Indian silk sari, Krishnamurthy began the concert with a `Durga Stotram’ or dedication to the Goddess Durga and stated that she feels extremely honored to sing at a Durga Puja which is observed during Navratri and that her musical journey began with winning a prize at a Durga Puja competition. In her humble manner she announced, “I think that is when my family and others felt that I could sing.” It was this fateful discovery that made Krishnamurthy who wanted to be an Indian Foreign Service officer, become an advertisement jingle singer and dubbing artist in Mumbai. Veteran musical stalwarts such as R. D. Burman, Hemant Kumar and Manna Dey saw the potential in her and began promoting her. Her first name given at birth was Sharada, but, Hemant Kumar renamed her Kavitha and the name stuck.
Krishnamurthy’s meteoric rise was not quick or spectacular, she dubbed for many years for greats like Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle in the 1980’s before she got opportunities to become a solo playback singer. She explained that she would record the original songs composed for a movie for the shoot. However, the final film album version would be in Lata or Asha’s voice. Her luck changed when her rendition of Mr. India’s ‘Hawa Hawaii’ was used even in the final film album and film!
The Dakshini concert opened with Raju singing two songs. Krishnamurthy then took over the night singing one hit song after another. She frequently alluded to her ‘Bengali connection’ which began with her close association with a Bengali aunt.
The mega hit 1942-A Love Story catapulted Krishnamurthy to the top echelons of Bollywood’s musical elite. She sang “Pyar Hua Chup Kaise” with her clear, sweet voice setting the mood for a concert that was truly a musical journey into her career spiced with some wonderful recollections that she shared about her associations with the industry’s top musical names. Krishnamurthy’s longest musical association was with the duo Laxmikant Pyarelal and together they delivered multiple hit songs that are considered musical gems even today.
Krishnamurthy then sang ‘Dheemi Dheemi Gaye’ from Zubeida and ‘Rhim Jhim Rhim Jhim’ accompanied by Raju from 1942. Both these songs being soft romantic melodies, had many tapping their feet but, when she belted out “Nimbuda de Nimbuda” the Rajasthani folk-based hit from Hum Did De Chukke Sanam, many in the audience danced along the aisles while others gave her a standing ovation. Her other mega hit song “Bole Chudiya bole Kangana” from Karan Johar’s Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gam once again had the audience up in dance and foot tapping and clapping mode. Krishnamurthy then interspersed these fast-moving songs with a spiritual song sung by Manna Dey and also a mischievous Bengali song. She proved that she was at ease singing in both languages. However, singing in multiple languages has never been a challenge for her as she has the track record of recording 1800 songs in her three-decade career in 60 languages! Her first film song hits were actually sung in Kannada.
Krishnamurthy obliged the audience by singing some of their requests such as ‘Tu hi Re’ from the film Bombay while paying tribute to the male version sung by Hariharan. She also sang ‘Dola re Dola re’ from the Bengali epic Devdas which was made in Bollywood. Her most charming characteristic seems to be her modesty and her ability to acknowledge the talent of her peers as well as past musical stalwarts, while taking the audience on a journey down memory lane as well as divulging the inner workings of Bollywood music. She highlighted the mastery of the composition “Aaj me Upar, Asman Neeche” praising Jatin Lalit and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri. At one point she stated that she must have been a Bengali in her past life although she now is a Tamil Brahmin with deep links to Bengal and its musical and culinary culture. She concluded the program by singing ‘I love my India, Watan mere India’ from the film Pardes.
Dr. K. P Chaudhury was the guest of honor. As a strong supporter of Dakshini.org Chaudhury honored Krishnamurthy with flowers.
Krishnamurthy was accompanied by software professionals stationed in the US and their dedication was evident in the melodious sounds they rendered. Perhaps, the biggest take away from the concert was that beautiful music does not need gaudy dancers, backdrops, pyro tech effects or gimmicks to be enjoyed. Krishnamurthy’s concert was music in all its beauty and simplicity while she herself was the epitome of dignity and melody. (Abhisek, Dutchak Photography)
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