Kumar Sanu who lends his voice to many Bollywood superstars lived up to his moniker ‘King of Melody’, writes ZIEMAN who was at his concert at Arena of Stars last Sunday.
Playback singer Kumar Sanu gave a marathon three-and-a-half hour performance – his first solo concert in Malaysia – just singing songs that his fans craved for.
But for hard-core Bollywood fans, this is the man behind the faces of handsome screen heroes such as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Sunil Shetty, Akhshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan.
It was obvious the anticipated Bollywood crowd was missing at the Arena of Stars in Genting Highlands last Sunday and only the true-blue Kumar Sanu (pronounced Shanu) fans would make a date to see him perform.
The turnout was not encouraging but it did not dampen the spirit of the “King of Melody”. He delivered his promise to give what his fans came for – songs and more songs in his first solo concert in Malaysia.
Sanu made his grand stage entrance in a dazzling black outfit and looked rather impatient to render his numbers. The audience cheered as Sanu made his way down the steps and went straight into his first song.
His songs, mostly from Hindi films, were almost like a veritable treasure trove of hits. As he sang, at times non-stop, Sanu made sure it sounded better each time. Sanu’s signature voice sounded so familiar to those who have watched movies like Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya, Hello Brother, Yes Boss, Kasoor, Pardes, Dilwale Dulhannia Le Jayenge, Deewana, Hum Hain Raahi Ke and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
For a veteran who has recorded more than 8,000 songs for 800 films and once held a record for recording 28 songs in a day, singing a marathon of songs was no mean task. Sanu managed his vocals with such ease and showed that he had excellent stamina.
Undoubtedly one of the leading playback singers, Sanu belongs to the second generation of legendary playback singers after Mohd Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. From the early 1980s to the mid-90s, Sanu was the most sought-after playback singer in Bollywood. He had a hand in almost all the popular Hindi films then.
But currently, Sanu is pitted against Udit Narayan, the other favourite and popular playback singer who is THE voice of Shah Rukh Khan.
From Sanso Ki Zaroorat Hai Jaise, Sanu sailed through a string of songs the likes of Chori Chori Jab Nazare Mili, Tere Dar Par Sanam, Do Dil Mil Rahe Hai, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha, Meri Mehbooba, Tuje Dekha To Yeh Jana Sanam, Aaj Mein Upar, Pardesi Pardesi Jana Nahin and the ever popular Meri Mehbooba.
The audience was too polite to make any requests and the singer did not interact much with them and spoke only when necessary.
His limited dance skills proved that he was no performer and his eight back-up dancers were left to do the job. Sanu was almost like a mannequin at times and hardly made any attempt to dance. Singing was his forte and he did just that, taking three short breaks throughout the evening.
Sanu had three guest singers – Poonam Bhatia, Anupriya and Aiyub Samad – but it was Poonam who matched him. Their voices complemented each other and they did several duets.
The crowd went wild when familiar tunes from the movies were heard. Poonam, in an electric blue outfit, may not be in the same league as other female playback singers the likes of Alka Yagnik, Anuradha Paudwal or Kavita Krishnamurthy, but her voice certainly demanded a listen.
Sadly though Anupriya was not as good. Her shrill voice lacked the maturity that Poonam’s has. Aiyub was quite impressive, singing two numbers, one of which was a song from the film Sangam.
When Sanu returned to the stage after his first break, it was duet time with Poonam once again. The audiences were having a good time, swaying to the music.
Sunil who was the emcee for the night provided the humour although everything was in Hindi. But as he mimicked Salman Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Nana Patekar, Shah Rukh Khan and Johnny Lever, the non-Hindi speaking crowd was appreciative of his efforts. At one point, he even imitated the sounds of a train changing tracks.
The back-up musicians were commendable as they created the right feel, making the songs sound like film scores.
By the time Sanu launched into his last session, it was clear that boredom had set in and some were headed for the exit.
However, the grand finale was rather impressive, with him singing a popular song from the movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Despite the shortcomings, Sanu deserved a pat on the back for singing songs that his fans craved for.
The show was a bit too long, akin to a Hindi movie. But then, three and a half hours of songs, dance minus drama is exceptionally “sweet” by normal standard.
Though Sanu’s vocals have enthralled audiences worldwide in 17 languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati and Punjabi, the recent concert proved that you need more than just a voice to draw people to a Bollywood concert.
http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2003/9/25/movies/6342311&sec=movies
(Submitted by: Azhar Naqvi)
(24-oct-2003)
