Archive for August 2013
Prabhu Deva
PRABHU
DEVA (born 3 April 1973 ), is an Indian film choreographer,
stage dancer, actor and director known for
his works predominantly in Tamil, Telugu cinema, Bollywood, Malayalam and Kannada
films. In a career spanning twenty-five years, He has performed and designed a
wide range of dancing styles. He has garnered two National Film Awardsfor Best
Choreography, and has been widely known by the media as India's Michael
Jackson.
After a sequence of successful attempts in acting in the 1990s and
early 2000s such as Kadhalan (1994), Raasaiyya (1995),Minsara
Kanavu (1997), Naam Iruvar Namakku Iruvar (1998), Kaathala
Kaathala (1998) and Vanathai Pola (2000), Prabhu
Dheva ventured into direction with 2005 Telugu blockbuster Nuvvostanante
Nenoddantana. He then went on to direct successful films in Telugu, Hindi and
Tamil languages such as Shankardada Zindabad (2007), Pokkiri (Tamil)(2007), Wanted (2009)
andRowdy Rathore (2012).
Prabhu Dheva was born in chennai to Kannada Lingayat family.
His father, Mugur Sundar (known as Sundaram Master), was a
choreographer for South Indian movies. His family later moved to Chennai
where he grew up. Prabhu Dheva was inspired by his father and took up
dancing learning Indian classical dance forms such as Bharatanatyam from
Dharmaraj and Udipi Lakshminarayanan as well as Western styles. Raju
Sundaram and Nagendra Prasad are his brothers.
Prabhu Deva first appeared as a background dancer for a song in
the 1988 Tamil film Agni Natchathiram. Deva's first venture as
a choreographer was Vetri Vizha (1989). He has since then
choreographed in over 100 movies. From choreography, he went into acting. His
first film as an actor was Indhu (1994) with actress Roja.
In 1999, Dheva,Shobhana and A. R. Rahman performed with a Tamil
cinema dancing troupe at the "Michael Jackson and Friends" concert
in Munich, Germany. He acted alongside his brothers in the
movie One Two Three. As of 2010, he serves as chairman and director
of the Prabhudheva's Dance Academy in Singapore. He planned to
release his first video album called It is boring in 2013. He
also played the lead role in ABCD (Any Body Can Dance), the first
3D dance film in India.
Prabhu Dheva married Ramlath who converted from Christianity to
Hinduism and changed her name to Latha; they had three children - their eldest
son (Basavaraju/Vishal) died of cancer in 2008.
During the making of the film Villu in 2008, there
were reports that he and actress Nayantara fell in love on the sets
with some reports even claiming that he married her secretly in June
2009. She had tattooed his name on her wrist and began appearing with him
in public, while neither denying nor confirming the relationship. In
September 2010, Prabhu Dheva openly confessed his love for Nayantara and
further stated that he would marry her soon. The issue gained media attention
and turned into a controversy, since Prabhu Dheva was not divorced from
Ramalath. Prabhu Dheva publicly claimed that his marriage to Ramalath was
invalid; he privately wed Nayantara after she underwent conversion to Hinduism.
Unwilling to grant a divorce, she filed a petition at the family court, seeking
directions against her husband and Nayantara marrying, attending
functions together and receiving awards as husband and wife, and requesting a
reunion with him. Furthermore, Ramalath threatened to go on hunger
strike if Prabhu Dheva married Nayantara, while several women's
organizations conducted protests against Nayantara for bringing
disrepute to Tamil culture, burning an effigy of her. In 2012,
Nayantara confirmed that she had ended her relationship with Prabhu Deva.
Prabhu Dheva has moved to Mumbai and is residing at Boney Kapoor's
old place in Green Acres.
Tag :
Dancers
Enrique Iglesias
ENRIQUE MIGUEL IGLESIAS PREYSLER or better
known Enrique Iglesias (born May 8, 1975) is a Spanish singer-songwriter, model, actor,
and record producer based in America. Iglesias started his career in the
mid-1990s on an American Spanish Language record label Fonovisa which
helped turn him into one of the biggest stars in Latin America and the Hispanic
Market in the United States becoming the biggest seller of Spanish-language
albums of that decade. He has also credited his niece, Natalia Elisa Iglesias
for inspiring him throughout his musical career. He made a successful crossover
into the mainstream market and signed a multi-album deal with Universal
Music Group for an unprecedented US $48,000,000 with Universal Music
Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release
English albums. In 2010, he parted with Interscope and signed with another
Universal Music Group label, Universal Republic.
Iglesias has sold over 100 million units worldwide, making him one
of the best selling Spanish language artists of all time. He has had
five Billboard Hot 100 top five singles, including two
number-ones, and holds the record for producing 23 number-one Spanish-language
singles on the Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks. He has also had
12 number-one songs on Billboard's Dance charts, more than any
other single male artist. Altogether, Iglesias has amassed 70 number-one
rankings on the variousBillboard charts. Billboard has
called him The King of Latin Pop and The King of Dance.
Iglesias was born in Madrid, Spain, and is the third and youngest
child of singer Julio Iglesias and socialite and magazine
journalist Isabel Preysler. His niece, Natalia Iglesias has been a big
part of his career and family. He was raised with two older siblings: Chabeli
Iglesias and Julio Iglesias, Jr.. His mother is a Filipina and
his father is of Spanish ancestry from Galicia and Andalusia,
his father also claims to have Jewish ancestry on his mother's
side. His parents were divorced in 1979.
In 1986, Iglesias' grandfather, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga, was
kidnapped by the armed Basque terrorist group ETA. For their safety,
Enrique and his brother, Julio Iglesias, Jr., were sent to live with their
father in Miami. He also lived in Belgrade, Serbia, for one year
with his mother. As his father's career kept him on the road, the young
Iglesias was raised by the family nanny. He attended the prestigious Gulliver
Preparatory School, where he made his singing debut in a production of Hello,
Dolly!. Although his mother is ethnically Filipino, Enrique does not
speak Tagalog. Iglesias is fluent in Spanish and English, the latter
influencing and making a regular appearance in his songs. Iglesias later went
on to study business at the University of Miami.
Iglesias did not want his father to know about his plans for a
musical career and did not want his famous surname to help advance his career.
He borrowed money from his family nanny and he recorded a demo cassette tape
which consisted of a Spanish song and two English songs. Approaching his
father's former publicist, Fernán Martínez, the two promoted the songs under
the stage name 'Enrique Martínez' with the backstory of being an unknown singer
from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed the Mexican labelFonovisa. After dropping
out of college, he traveled to Toronto to record his first album.
Iglesias received surgery in 2003 to remove a circular mole from
the right side of his face, citing possible concerns that over time it could
become cancerous.
Iglesias
dated playboy model Samantha Torres in 1997. In late
2001, he started dating tennis player Anna Kournikova. In June 2008,
Iglesias told the Daily Starthat he had married Kournikova the
previous year and that they are currently separated. They have since
reconciled.
Tag :
Singers
Purbayan Chatterjee (Sitar)
PURBAYAN CHATTERJEE (born in Kolkata 12 September 1976)
is an Indian sitar player and composer who lives in Kolkata, India.
He is noted for amalgamating traditional Indian classical music with
contemporary world music genres.
He has performed as a solo artist and as a
part of the groups Shastriya Syndicate and Stringstruck. He is
also a vocalist and has performed in duet with Shankar Mahadevan (Dwo
- from the album Stringstruck).
He has performed several times with tabla artist Ustad
Zakir Hussain.
Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar
PANDIT
SANJEEV ABHYANKAR was
born on October 15, 1969 in Pune, India to Dr. Shobha Abyankar. Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar, the maestro from the
Mewati Gharana, is an artist of international acclaim in the field of
Hindustani Classical and Devotional Music. An extremely popular artist, he is
the inspiration for the young generation. With his magical singing, he has
attracted the young generation towards the Indian Classical music. In a career
spanning more than 25 years, he has assumed the mantle of a role model of
dedication, hard work, patience and perseverance.
He started
learning Hindustani Classical Music, at the age of eight, groomed by his
mother, and her guru Pandit Pimpalkhare and later from Padma
Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj. Though his aim had been to pursue a career
in music since childhood, he has acquired a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce.
Sanjeev
Abhyankar rendered his first stage performance in Mumbai, at the age of 13
in 1983. Since then, he has traveled extensively all over the country,
performing in conferences and art circles around the world, spreading the
fragrance of Indian Classical music to the United States of America, Canada, Australia, Europe, Africa and
the Middle East.
He has several
albums with HMV, Music Today, Sony Music, Times Music, Navaras
Records U.K., Neelam Audio Video U.S.A., Sona Rupa U.K., BMG Cressendo, Ninaad
Music, Fountain Music & Alurkar Music. He has also given playback for films
such as Maachis, Nidaan, Sanshodhan, Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar and Banaras.
Besides
performing in art circles throughout India, he has performed in commercial
conferences such as Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Samaroh, Pune;Baba Harvallabh
Samaroh, Jalandhar; ITC SRA Sangeet Sammelan and Doverlen Conference,
Calcutta; Vishnu Digambar Paluskar Jayanti Samaroh, Mumbai; International
Melody Foundation's Ustad Amir Khan Samaroh and Gunidas Festival, New Delhi;
Swami Haridas Sammelan, Vrindavan; Pandit Motiram Sangeet Samaroh, Hyderabad; Ustad
Allauddin Khan Samaroh and Ustad Amir Khan Samaroh, Madhya Pradesh; Saptak
Conference, Ahmedabad; Master Dinanath Sangeet Mahotsav, Goa; Hindustani
Kalakar Mandali Conference, Bangalore; and the Kalidas Samaroh, Nagpur.
Tag :
Vocalists
Shreya Ghoshal
SHREYA GHOSHAL (born March 12, 1984) is an Indian singer.
Best known as a playback singer in Hindi films, she also sings in
other Indian languages including Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Malayalam,Tamil and Telugu.
Ghoshal's career began when she won the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contest
as an adult. Her Bollywood playback singing career began with Devdas,
for which she received National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer along
with Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer and Filmfare
RD Burman Award for New Music Talent. Since then, she has received many
other awards. Ghoshal was also honored from the U.S. state of Ohio,
wherein governor Ted Strickland declared June 26 as "Shreya
Ghoshal Day". She was also featured in the Forbes’ Top 100
celebrities of India. In 2013, Ghoshal became the third Indian to have
over 10 million likes in the social networking site Facebook after A.
R. Rahman and Sachin Tendulkar, and thereby, the first Indian woman
too in this regard.
Shreya Ghoshal was born on March 12, 1984, to a Bengali Hindu family
in Baharampur, West Bengal. Thereafter, she spent the next three
months in her birthplace in West Bengal. She grew up in Rawatbhata, a
small town near Kota, Rajasthan, where her father was transferred.
Her father, Mr Bishwajit Ghoshal is a nuclear power plantengineer and
works for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, and her mother, Mrs
Sarmistha Ghoshal is a literature post-graduate.[6] She lived there for
thirteen years and completed her schooling up to Eighth Standard at Rawatbhata
at the Atomic Energy Central School.
In 1997, when her father was transferred to Mumbai, Ghoshal
had to shift to Mumbai with her family. In Mumbai, she studied at Atomic
Energy Central School inAnushaktinagar. She joined the Atomic Energy
Junior College for studying Science. However, she felt difficulty in
studying Science as her musical career in Bollywood had already began
by the time. So, she dropped out from there and enrolled at SIES College
at Sion in Mumbai for graduation, where she took up Arts with English as
Major.
Rawatbhata was a primeval town, unpolluted and away from
urban influence. In Rawatbhata, Ghoshal experienced the existence of several
cultural programmes and social assemblages, which facilitated her in starting a
musical world of her own. A cultural inclination of her parents and the luck of
having a mother as a singer accelerated her musical journey. The involvement of
her parents in such functions brought her opportunities to sing as a small
child, thereby, introducing her the first lessons in the field of music. Her
mother sang during rehearsals and she used to repeat by buzzing the same songs
with infantile pronunciation. During those days, her parents detected her love
towards singing.
Ghoshal's mother turned out to be her first teacher, when at the
age of four, she accompanied her on the harmonium and started practicing songs,
chiefly Bengali songs. Her first stage performance was made at their
club's annual function. When she turned six, she started her lessons in Hindustani
classical music. She got training in Hindustani classical music by Rakesh
Sharma of Kota, Shri Jayawardhan Bhatnagar, the music teacher of her
school, and finally from Mahesh Chandra Sharma of Kota. Her introduction
to Hindi film songs and Rajasthani folk was made by Shri
Jayawardhan Bhatnagar.
In 1995, Shreya became the winner of the All India Light Vocal
Music Competition, New Delhi, which was organised by the Sangam Kala
Group, in the Light Vocal group at a sub-junior level. Ghoshal was judged
by Kalyanji-Anandji and Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra at
various times of her life. Ghoshal made her first on-screen appearance with a
show, named "Awaz Nayi Andaz Wohi" which was aired on the
channel EL TV, where she got Kalyanji-Anandji and Pandit Rajan and Sajan
Mishra as her judges. She made her first studio recording with this
show in 1996. As a child, she won the 75th Children's Special episode of the Sa
Re Ga Ma (now Sa Re Ga Ma Pa) contest on Zee TV. Further on, she
again obtained triumph at miscellaneous episodes of Sa Re Ga Ma. Shreya's last
connection with Sa Re Ga Ma was the Mega-final judged by diverse judges,
viz, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Ram Narayan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Girija
Devi, Anil Biswas and Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Late Padma
Shri Kalyanji, who also judged the competition, convinced her parents to
move to Mumbai. She was trained in playback singing by Kalyanji for
18 months and she continued her classical music training with Late Mukta
Bhide in Mumbai.
Adnan Sami
ADNAN SAMI is a singer, musician, pianist,actor
and composer with a command on Indian and Western Classical/
Semi-Classical notes, Jazz, Rock & Pop music. Born to Naureen and Arshad
Sami Khan inLondon, United Kingdom. He is a Canadian citizen of Pakistani and
Indian ancestry and currently works and lives in Mumbai,India. Having
received his formal training in Indian Classical music from the
famous Santoor Maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, his music merges
Asian and Western music styles and instrumentation. His career has ranged
from Classical Music(Indian and Western) to Jazz to modern Pop-Rock.
Adnan’s first single was released in 1986 with an English smash
hit single in the Middle East which went straight to No.1 position in its first
week entry onto the music charts of the region with a song he wrote &
recorded in his voice for the United Nations & UNICEF called “Run for his
life”. This was followed by 3 more No. 1s, “Talk To Me”, “Get Out Of My
Face!”&“You’re My Best Kept Secret”.
His first formal album was an Indian classical album on the piano
accompanied by tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain in 1989 called “The
One & Only”. He had his first vocal solo album “Raag Time” in 1991. The
song from his album "Teri Yaad" was the title track of his first
album which became a huge hit in Pakistan.
In 1994, he composed music for a film for the first time. The
Pakistani film, in which Adnan was the lead actor and famous Indian playback
singer Asha Bhosle did the playback, “Sargam (1995 film)” was a
blockbuster.It was also the first time that an Indian playback singer was
featured in an album in Pakistan. However, the authorities banned Asha's voice
from the soundtrack in the actual film, which disappointed Adnan. He then had
to re-record the songs with Hadiqa Kiyani. Asha’s voice was retained
however in the CDs & records. Till date Sargam is the only film Adnan acted
in and is the biggest selling album of all time in Pakistan. The film and its
soundtrack continue to be a milestone for Pakistan’s film & musical industry.
In 2000,
Asha Bhosle teamed up again with him to release a collection of love songs
named “Kabhi to Nazar Milao” in India. The music was also composed by
Adnan. The album became an instant blockbuster and had
topped the Indipop charts for the most of 2001 &
2002. According to Business Week magazine, the album sold 4
million copies in India alone.
Two songs
from the album, Kabhi To Nazar Milao, which featured model Aditi
Gowitrikar and Lift Karaa De featuring the popular Indian actor Govinda were
very popular at that time. The videos were shot by Anil Mehta who has shot
popular Hindi films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Lagaan. After
the success of that album, Magnasound and Adnan released an album named “Always
Yours” which was a remix version of numbers from that album.
He soon became a sensation, which led Hindi filmmaker Boney Kapoor
to invite him to give music for his film. This was the beginning for him
to compose and sing for Hindi films and even for the top Hindi film producers
of the time like Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai etc. Because of the popularity of
his music videos and live performances, he started getting acting offers at the
same time.
The song,
"Tu Sirf Mera Mehboob", from Hindi film, Ajnabee (2001) by Adnan had
become a rage and was a superhit. Screen
Magazine called him the pop personality of the year in 2001.
In 2002, Pepsi Foods made Adnan its brand
ambassador for India, a contract which involved hosting a series of live
music concerts across cities. Adnan featured in numerous ads for Pepsi
products. He is the only artiste in all of Asia & Europe who has
endorsed Pepsi Cola ‘&’ Coca-Cola together.
According to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, no
Pakistani artist has ever managed to gain as much popularity in India as Adnan
has. According to an article in the Indian newspaper The Times of
India, Adnan is the most successful face in non-film music in India.
His
second studio album, “Tera Chehra”, which was released in October 2002 to
critical eulogies even as his first album was still selling. The music
videos for this album were shot by Binod Pradhan who has shot the
popular Hindi film Devdas, directed by Bela Sehgal. The album
features popular Bollywood stars Rani Mukerji in the title
track, Amitabh Bachchan in the track "Kabhi Nahi", who also
sang the duet with Adnan. Actress Mahima Chaudhry was also seen
in another song. The title track was written by famous Hindi movie lyricist Sameer. According
to the Screen Magazine, it was the only successful pop album of the
year.
“Tera Chehra” had further broken sale records by becoming the
biggest selling album of 2002 (including film soundtracks) in India and
continued its No.1 position in 2003 and the biggest selling Indian album of all
time (including film soundtracks) in U.S.A and Canada. The album had been in
the No. 1 position in all the music charts of India from the time of its
release in September 2002 and continued to do so for over a year all over India
thus beating his debut album’s No.1 record set earlier by himself.
Hindi film Saathiya (2002) brought him the
opportunity to work with maestro A. R. Rahman in the form of
"Aye Udi Udi", which he was looking forward to. According to Screen
Magazine, the song was the highlight of the album. Rediff.com called
him the "Reigning King of Indipop" in early 2003 based on the
sales of his albums in the past two years.
His most successful albums have been Kabhi To Nazar Milao (with Asha
Bhosle) and Tera Chehra, and his music videos usually have had
a host of Bollywood stars in them, including Namrata Shirodkar ("Bheegi
Bheegi Raat"), Mahima Chaudhry, Raveena Tandon, Rani Mukerji ("Tera
Chehra"), Govinda, Fardeen Khan, Amisha Patel ("O
Meri Jaan"), Bhumika Chawla ("Maahiya"), Dia
Mirza ("Pal Do Pal") and the most famous, Amitabh Bachchan (Kabhi
Nahi).
To acknowledge his great achievement in sales, the premier music
TV channel MTV honoured him by awarding him a special award called the "Breakthrough
Artiste of the Year" - An award especially instituted for this achievement
of which Adnan Sami is the first recipient.
Since 2003, he has sung for a few Tamil movies like Boys, Aaytha
Ezhuthu composed by A.R. Rahman. The songs, "Boom Boom"
from Boys and "Nenjamellam Kadhal" fromAayitha
Ezhuthu, were hits. He also sang for the Tamil and Telugu versions
besides the Hindi version of songs from the movie Yuva (2004) whose
music was also composed by A. R. Rahman. Besides Rahman, he also worked
together with composer Yuvan Shankar Raja, and sung hit Tamil songs
"Oh Intha Kadhal" from Satham Podathey and
"OruKal" from Siva Manasula Sakthi, which got very popular and
widely noticed. He sang the song "Chanchadi Adi Urang Nee" in
the Malayalam movie called Makalkku. He has also sung for a Kannada
film. His first Kannada song, "Don't Worry Madabeda" for
the film Super Star starring Upendra was a big hit. He has also worked with
music composers Devi Sri Prasad and M. M. Keeravani and sang songs in Telugu
films Varsham, Chatrapathi, Shankar Dada MBBS and 100% Love.
In 2006,
he took a sabbatical and reportedly lost over 160 kg to make a
comeback in April 2007 with a new smash hit album “Kisi Din”. In 2007, he sang
the soundtrack "Dil Kya Kare" from the hit Hindi film Salaam-e-Ishq:
A Tribute to Love and “Noor-e-Khuda” from My Name Is Khan to
name a few. He has composed film music for several other Hindi films including Lucky:
No Time for Love, Yeh Raaste Hain Pyar Ke, Dhamaal, 1920 (film), Chance
Pe Dance, Mumbai Salsa, Khubsoorat, Sadiyaan & Shaurya and
many more.
As a classical concert pianist, Adnan Sami has had the honour of
giving "solo" Royal Command Performances before such Royalty as
the King of Sweden and King Hussein of Jordan. He has also
performed for Heads of State and Governments such as President Mitterrand of
France, President of the United Arab Emirates, President and Prime
Minister of India, President and Prime Minister of Pakistan, President
and Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, Prime
Minister of Sweden and Princess Christina of Sweden. Apart from this,
Adnan has performed for prestigious music festivals to sold-out stadiums of his
solo concert tours all over the world in over forty countries.
Adnan Sami had written a song for India to cheer the Indian
Cricket team during the World Cup Cricket 2003, which became immensely popular
all over the nation. The video of this song captures the nationalistic spirit
of competition depicting Adnan performing with the Indian Cricket Team along
with guest appearances from Indian film stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek
Bachchan, Fardeen Khan and Kareena Kapoor.
His work has associated him with the greatest names from the
Indian Film and Music Industry ranging from Lata Mangeshkar, Dev
Anand, Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Asha Bhosle, Shah
Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Rajesh Roshan, A. R.
Rahman, Anu Malik, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Sameer, Subhash
Ghai, Mani Ratnam, Rakesh Roshan, Feroz Khan to Pandit
Jasraj, Begum Parveen Sultana, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit
Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Sultan Khan and Ustad
Zakir Hussain amongst many others.
On 15 December 2002, B.B.C. World Service celebrated 70
years of broadcasting by organizing a worldwide live concert with artistes
representing different parts of the world who performed before a global
audience via satellite; from India, Adnan was chosen by B.B.C; TRP feedback
reflected that the maximum response globally was given to his performance.
In the summer of 2003, Adnan achieved the distinction of becoming
the only artiste from the entire Asian region to have sold out Wembley Stadium
in London for two nights in a row- a feat which has won him a place in the
prestigious Limca Book of World Records (Asia's equivalent to the
West's "Guinness Book of World records"). In the years 2005, 2008
& 2012 he went onto repeat the same achievement by playing two sold-out
concerts, every time, each of these respective years at Wembley Stadium, London,
yet again.
In 2010, Adnan received the prestigious “LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
AWARD” from the Prime Minister of Pakistan at a ceremony by Pakistan
Television.
In 2011, Adnan was bestowed with a very distinguished honour, the
“GLORY OF INDIA” Award, by the Government of India. Recently the world famous ‘Wonder
of the World’the Taj Mahal completed its 350 years of existence. In order
to mark this historic occasion, the Government of India organized a year long
festivities which culminated by a once in a life time solo concert performance
by Adnan on the final Grand finale night in front of the Taj Mahal. After
this performance, the Indian media dubbed Adnan as the " Sultan Of
Music"!
Adnan hosted the Indian version of the American music game show “Don't
Forget the Lyrics!” called “Bol Baby Bol” on the Star TV network in 2008. Prior
to that in 2005, Adnan was the sole jury for the singing competition program on
Channel [V] called “Super Singer”. In 2011, Adnan returned as a judge on the
singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs, which became
popular world-wide.
Adnan was
first married to actress Zeba Bakhtiar (her
second marriage) in 1993 from whom he has a son Azaan Sami Khan. They
divorced after 3 years.
In 2001,
Adnan married Dubai based Arab Sabah Galadari and it
was her second marriage as well. This relationship quit after a
year-and-a-half. It was reported in the media that Sabah left him because
he was obese.
In 2004, Sami revealed himself as a huge fan of S. D. Burman and R.D.
Burman
In 2005, Adnan suffered from lymphoedema and developed
an abscess in the knee. He was in intensive care, had to undergo a risky
surgery and was in bed for three months at Cromwell Hospital in London.
In June 2006, Adnan weighed 230 kg (506 lb) and
according to him, his doctor said he was giving him just six months to live. By
diet, exercise and will-power, Adnan lost 145 kg (319 lb) weight in
16 months.
In 2008,
Adnan's wife Sabah returned to Mumbai remarried and began staying with Adnan but the
marriage only lasted for a year after which Sabah filed for divorce. In 2009,
Adnan suffered the biggest blow of his life when he lost his father to
pancreatic cancer. He was very close to him. His father was an extremely
supportive & influential force in his life for shaping him as a musician.
Adnan married for the third time on 29 January 2010, with an
Afghan origin German woman, Roya Faryabi, the daughter of a retired
diplomat & Army General. According to media, Adnan first met Roya in India
and proposed to her after some time, while Roya says that she always liked
Adnan and he is the best match for her.
Tag :
Singers
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
RAHAT FATEH ALI KHAN (born
1974) is a Pakistani singer,
primarily of Qawwali, a devotional music of the Muslim Sufis.
He is the nephew of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and son of Ustad Farrukh
Fateh Ali Khan and also the grandson of legendary Qawwali singer Fateh
Ali Khan. In addition to Qawwali, he also performs ghazals and
other light music. He is popular as a Bollywood and Lollywood playback
singer.
Rahat was born into a Punjabi family of Qawwals
in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan into a family of traditional
musicians. The son of Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, he was trained by his
uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in the art of classical music and Qawwali.
Rahat was chosen by his uncle Ustad Nusrat Fateh
Ali Khan for tutoring in the traditions of Qawwali music and was
preciously singing with his uncle and father by the age of three. At the
age of seven he began formal training with his uncle & he performed first
time in public at the age of nine at the death anniversary of his grandfather.
From age fifteen, he was made an integral part of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's qawwali group
which was famous throughout the world. He toured the U.K. with his
uncle in 1985, and performed solo songs in addition to singing with the Qawwali group.At
a concert in Birmingham on July 27, 1985, he performed the solo ghazal, Mukh
Tera Sohneya Sharab Nalon Changa Ae. At a concert at the Harrow Leisure
Centre in 1985, he performed the solo song, Gin Gin Taare Lang Gaiyaan
Rattaan. He sang lollywood playback in the 90s and debuted as a playback
singer in Bollywood with the movie Paap (2004), featuring
the hit song, Mann Ki Lagan. His recent works include Pakistani
nationalistic songs such as Dharti Dharti and Hum
Pakistan, and songs from Bollywood films. He has toured extensively and
performed in Pakistan, India, United Kingdom and all around the world. In April
2012 Rahat toured in the UK, performing at Wembley Arena and
the Manchester Arena, playing to a combined audience of over 20,000
people.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is married to the daughter of Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan. They have two daughters, Maheen Khan (eldest) and Filza
Khan(youngest), and a son, Shazmaan Khan (born 2007).
Durga Lal (Kathak)
PANDIT DURGA LAL (1948 - 21 Jan
1990) was a renowned Kathak dancer of the Jaipur Gharana.
He was born in Mahendragarh, Rajasthan. He is known for playing the title main
role in the 1989 dance drama Ghanashyam; the music of which was
composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar and was produced by Birmingham
Opera Company. For his contributions to the field of Kathak form of dance
he was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, by Government
of India.He had also received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the
year 1984.
Lal was a
disciple of Sunder Prasdji. Along with being a Kathak dancer he was also a
singer and would play Pakhvaj. He taught Kathak at the National
Institute of Kathak Dance (Kathak Kendra), New Delhi. Lal's brother
Pandit Devi Lal was also a renowned Kathak dancer. Devi Lal's wife
Gitanjali Lal is also a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award winner (2007). Both
brothers died at an early age. After Durga Lal's death his children and
other art fraternity members have been organising an annual festival called
Pandit Durga Lal Memorial Festival. He has two children, elder daughter Nupur
and younger son Mohit. Nupur is Kathak performer and vocalist and
Mohit is a percussionist. His disciples include renowned dancers Uma
Dogra and Jayant Kastuar amongst others. In memory of Lal, Dogra has
arranged the "Pandit Durga Lal Samaroh" for more than 15 years as of
2005. She has also made a documentary Nirvana Through
Dance on him.
Tag :
Classical Dancers
Kishore Kumar
KISHORE KUMAR born
as ABHAS KUMAR GANGULY, (4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987), was a
popular Indian film playback singer. He is also known as an actor,
lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenplay writer and scriptwriter.
Kishore Kumar sang in many Indian languages including Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Malayalam, Oriya,
and Urdu. He won 8 Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer and
holds the record for most number of Filmfare Awardswon in that category.
He was awarded the "Lata Mangeshkar Award" by the Madhya Pradesh government
and from that year onwards, the Madhya Pradesh Government initiated a new award
called the "Kishore Kumar Award" for contributions to Hindi
cinema.
Kishore Kumar was born into the Bengali Ganguly family in Khandwa, Central
Provinces and Berar (now in Madhya Pradesh) as Abhas Kumar
Ganguly. His father Kunjalal Ganguly (Gangopadhyay) was a lawyer. His
mother Gouri Devi came from a wealthy Bengali family. Kishore was the youngest
of four siblings, the other three being Ashok Kumar (the eldest),
Sati Devi, and Anoop Kumar.
While Kishore was still a child, Ashok Kumar became a
Bollywood actor. (Later, Anoop Kumar also ventured into cinema with the help of
Ashok Kumar). Spending time with his brothers, Kishore also started to take a
keen interest in movies and music. He became a fan of singer-actor Kundan
Lal Saigal, whom he considered his guru, and tried to follow Saigal's singing
style.
After Ashok Kumar became a big star in Hindi films,
the Ganguly family used to visit Mumbai regularly. Abhas
Kumar changed his name to Kishore Kumar and started his cinema career as a
chorus singer at Bombay Talkies, where his brother worked. Kishore Kumar's
first film as an actor was Shikari (1946), in which Ashok
Kumar played the lead role. Music director Khemchand Prakash gave Kishore
Kumar a chance to sing "Marne ki duayen kyon mangu" for the
film Ziddi (1948). After this, Kishore Kumar got many other
assignments, but he was not very serious about a film career. In 1949, he
decided to settle in Mumbai.
Kishore Kumar played hero in the Bombay Talkies film Andolan (1951),
directed by Phani Majumdar. Although Kishore Kumar got some assignments as an
actor with the help of his brother, he was more interested in becoming a
singer. He was not interested in acting but his elder brother Ashok Kumar
wanted him to be an actor like him.
He starred in Bimal Roy's Naukri (1954)
and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's directorial debut Musafir (1957). Salil
Chowdhury, the music director for Naukri was initially
dismissive of him as a singer, when he came to know that Kishore Kumar didn't
have any formal training in music. However, after hearing his voice, he
gave him the song Chhota sa ghar hoga, which was supposed to be
sung by Hemant Kumar.
Kishore Kumar starred in films New Delhi (1957), Aasha (1957), Chalti
Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Half Ticket (1962), and Padosan (1968). Chalti
Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), his home production, starred the three Ganguly
brothers and Madhubala. The film is about romance between a city girl
(Madhubala) and a car mechanic (Kishore Kumar), with a subplot involving the
brothers.
Music director S. D. Burman is credited with spotting Kishore
Kumar's talent as a singer and advancing his singing career. During the making
of Mashaal (1950), Burman visited Ashok Kumar's house, where
he heard Kishore imitating K. L. Saigal. He complimented Kishore Kumar and
told him that he should develop a style of his own, instead of copying
Saigal. He kept Burman's advice in mind and eventually developed his own
style of singing, which featured the yodeling that he had heard on
the gramophone records of Tex Morton and Jimmie Rodgers bought
by his brother Anoop Kumar.
S. D. Burman recorded with Kishore for Dev Anand's Munimji (1954), Taxi
Driver (1954), House No. 44 (1955), Funtoosh (1956), Nau
Do Gyarah (1957), Paying Guest(1957), Guide (1965), Jewel
Thief (1967), Prem Pujari (1970), and Tere
Mere Sapne (1971). He also composed music for Kishore Kumar's home
production Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958). Some of their initial
films included the songs "Maana Janaab Ne Pukara Nahin" from Paying
Guest, "Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke" from Nau Do Gyarah (1957),
"Ai Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa" from Funtoosh, and "Ek
Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si" and "Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka"
from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958). Asha Bhosle and
Kishore Kumar performed duets composed by S. D. Burman including "Chhod Do
Aanchal" from Paying Guest (1957), "Ankhon Mein Kya
Ji" from Nau Do Gyarah (1957), "Haal Kaisa Hai
Janaab Ka" and "Paanch Rupaiya Baara Aana" from Chalti
Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) and "Arre Yaar Meri Tum Bhi Ho Gajab"
from Teen Deviyan (1965).
C. Ramchandra was another music director who recognized
Kishore Kumar's talent as a singer. Their collaborations include
"Eena Meena Deeka" from Aasha (1957). Kishore
Kumar's work includes "Nakhrewaali" from New Delhi (1956)
by Shankar Jaikishan, "C.A.T. Cat Maane Billi" and "Hum To
Mohabbat Karega" from Dilli Ka Thug (1958) by Ravi,
and "Chhedo Na Meri Zulfein" from Ganga Ki Lahren (1964)
by Chitragupta.
Kishore Kumar produced, directed, and acted in Jhumroo (1961).
He wrote the lyrics for the title song, "Main Hoon Jhumroo," and
composed music for all the songs in the film. Later, he produced and
directed Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein (1964). He wrote the script
and composed music for the film. It is based on the relationship between a
father (Kishore Kumar) and his deaf and mute son (played by his real-life son (Amit
Kumar). He made another two films called Door Ka Rahi (1971)
and Door Waadiyon Mein Kahin(1980).
In the 1960s, as an actor, Kishore Kumar built up a notoriety for
coming late for the shootings or bunking them altogether. His films
flopped frequently and he landed in income tax trouble. As a singer, his
work in this period includes "Zaroorat Hai Zaroorat Hai" from Manmauji (1961),
"Gaata Rahe Mera Dil" from Guide (1965), and
"Yeh Dil Na Hota Bechara" from Jewel Thief (1967).
In the late 1960s, Rahul Dev Burman worked together on
the soundtrack of the film Padosan (1968) in which Kishore
Kumar sang the songs "Mere Saamne Wali Khidki Mein" and "Kehna
Hai." Padosan was a comedy film starring Kishore Kumar as
a dramatist-musician, Mehmood as a Carnatic music and dance
teacher, and Sunil Dutt as a simpleton named Bhola. Kishore Kumar's
character in the film was inspired by the personality of his uncle, Dhananjay
Bannerjee (a classical singer). The highlight of the film was a musical,
comical duel between Kishore Kumar-Sunil Dutt and Mehmood: "Ek Chatur Nar
Karke Singaar."
In 1969, Shakti Samanta produced and directed the
film Aradhana, for which the music was composed by S.D. Burman. It
is said that after recording two songs for the film, the popular playback
singer Mohammed Rafi went to Hajj, where he heard that
professional singing is against Islam. Confused, he took a break from
singing and went to London to be with his son. Shakti Samanta suggested
that Kishore Kumar sing rest of the songs. When the film was released, the
songs "Mere Sapno Ki Rani" and "Roop Tera Mastana"
established Kishore Kumar as a leading playback singer in Bollywood. Kishore
Kumar won his first Filmfare award for the song "Roop Tera
Mastana".
Kishore Kumar married four times. His first wife was Bengali singer
and actress Ruma Guha Thakurta aka Ruma Ghosh. Their marriage lasted
from 1950 to 1958.
Kishore's second wife was actress Madhubala, who had worked
with him on many films including his home production Chalti Ka Naam
Gaadi (1958) and Jhumroo (1961). When Kishore Kumar proposed to her,
Madhubala was sick and was planning to go to London for treatment. At
this time, she didn't know that she had a ventricular septal defect (hole
in the heart), and her father wanted her to wait and consult the London doctors
first. Furthermore, at the time he was married to Ruma. After his divorce,
because Kishore Kumar was Bengali Hindu (Brahmin) and Madhubala Muslim,
they had a civil wedding ceremony in 1960. His parents refused to attend. The
couple also had a Hindu ceremony to please Kumar's parents, but Madhubala was
never truly accepted as his wife. Within a month of her wedding she moved back
to her bungalow in Bandra because of tension in the Kishore Kumar household.
They remained married but under great strain for the remainder of Madhubala's
life. The doctors in London told Madhubala that she would not live for long.
The marriage lasted for nine years, and ended with Madhubala's death on 23
February 1969.
Kishore Kumar's third marriage was to Yogeeta Bali, and
lasted from 1976 to 4 August 1978. Kishore was married to Leena
Chandavarkar from 1980 until his death. Kishore Kumar sired two
sons, Amit Kumar (playback singer) with Ruma, and Sumit Kumar with
Leena Chandavarkar.
Kumar is said to have been paranoid about not being
paid. During recordings, he would sing only after his secretary confirmed
that the producer had made the payment.Once, when he discovered that his dues
hadn't been fully paid, he landed up for shooting with make-up on only one side
of his face. When the director questioned him, he replied "Aadha paisa to
aadha make-up." (Half make-up for half payment).On the sets of Bhai
Bhai, Kishore Kumar refused to act because the director M V Raman owed him
five thousand rupees. Ashok Kumar persuaded him to do the scene. But, when the
shooting started, he walked across the floor and, each time he walked a few places,
he said, Paanch Hazzar Rupaiya (five thousand rupees) and did
a somersault. After he reached the end of the floor, he went out of the studio,
jumped into his car, and ordered his driver Abdul to drive away. On
another occasion, when producer R. C. Talwar did not pay his dues in spite of
repeated reminders, Kishore turned up at Talwar's residence one morning and
started shouting "Hey Talwar, de de mere aath hazaar"
("Hey Talwar, give me my eight thousand"). He did this every morning
until Talwar paid him.
The film Anand (1971) was originally supposed to
star Kishore Kumar and Mehmood Ali in the lead. Hrishikesh
Mukherjee, the director of the film, was asked to meet Kishore Kumar to discuss
the project. However, when he went to Kishore Kumar's house, he was driven away
by the gatekeeper due to a misunderstanding. Kishore Kumar (himself a Bengali)
hadn't been paid for a stage show organized by another Bengali man, and had
instructed his gatekeeper to drive away this "Bengali", if he ever
visited the house. When Hrishikesh Mukherjee (also a Bengali) went to
Kishore Kumar's house, the gatekeeper drove him away, mistaking him for the
"Bengali" that Kishore Kumar had asked him to drive away.
Consequently, Mehmood had to leave the film as well, and new actors (Rajesh
Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan) were signed up for the film.
In spite
of his "no money, no work" principle, sometimes Kishore Kumar
recorded for free even when the producers were willing to pay. Such films
include those produced byRajesh Khanna and Danny Denzongpa. On
one occasion, Kishore Kumar helped actor-turned-producer Bipin Gupta, by
giving him Rs.20,000 for the film Dal Mein Kala(1964). When actor
Arun Kumar Mukherjee died, Kishore Kumar regularly sent money to his family in
Bhagalpur. Mukherjee was one of the first persons to appreciate Kishore's
singing talent.
Many journalists and writers have written about Kishore Kumar's
seemingly eccentric behavior. Kishore Kumar had put a "Beware of
Kishore" sign at the door of his Warden Road flat, where he stayed for
some time while his bungalow was being done up. Once,
producer-director H. S. Rawail, who owed him some money, visited his flat to
pay the dues. Kishore Kumar took the money, and when Rawail offered to shake
hands with him, he reportedly put Rawail's hand in his mouth, bit it, and asked
"Didn’t you see the sign?". Rawail laughed off the incident and left quickly. Kishore
Kumar was a loner, and in an interview with Pritish Nandy (1985), he
said that he had no friends – he preferred talking to his trees
instead. Once, when a reporter made a comment about how lonely he must be,
Kishore Kumar took her to his garden. He then named some of the trees in his
garden, and introduced them to the reporter as his closest friends.
According to another reported incident, once Kishore Kumar was to
record a song for producer-director G. P. Sippy. As Sippy approached his
bungalow, he saw Kishore going out in his car. Sippy pleaded him to stop his
car, but Kishore only increased the speed of his car. Sippy chased him to Madh
Island, where Kishore Kumar finally stopped his car near the ruined Madh
Fort. When Sippy questioned his strange behavior, Kishore Kumar refused to
recognize or talk to him and threatened to call police. Sippy had to return.
Next morning, Kishore Kumar reported for the recording. An angry Sippy
questioned him about his behavior on the previous day. However, Kishore Kumar
insisted that Sippy must have seen a dream, and claimed that he was in Khandwa
on the previous day.
Once, a producer went to court to get a decree that Kishore Kumar
must follow the director's orders. As a consequence, Kishore Kumar obeyed the
director to the letter. He refused to alight from his car until the director
ordered him to do so. Once, after a car scene in Mumbai, he drove on
till Khandala because the director forgot to say "Cut".In
the 1960s, a financier named Kalidas Batvabbal, patently disgusted with Kishore
Kumar's alleged lack of cooperation during the shooting of Half Ticket,
gave him away to the income tax authorities. Kishore had to face a raid at his
house. Later, Kishore invited Batvabbal home, tricked him by asking him to
enter a cupboard for a "chat" and locked him inside. He unlocked
Batvabbal after two hours and told him "Don’t ever come to my house
again."
John McLaughlin (Guitar)
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN (born 4
January 1942, Doncaster, South
Yorkshire, England), also known as Mahavishnu John
McLaughlin, is an English guitarist,
bandleader and composer. His music
includes many genres of jazz,
and rock, which he coupled with an
interest in Indian classical music to
become one of the pioneering figures in fusion.
In 2010 guitarist Jeff Beck called him "the best
guitarist alive". The Indian tabla maestro Zakir
Hussain has called him "one of the greatest and one of the important musicians
of our times". In 2003, McLaughlin was ranked 49th in Rolling
Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
After contributing to several key British groups of the early
sixties and making his first solo record Extrapolation (with Tony
Oxleyand John Surman) he moved to the USA where he played with Tony
Williams's group Lifetime and then with Miles Davis on his
landmark electric jazz-fusion albums In A Silent Way, Bitches
Brew, A Tribute to Jack Johnson and On The Corner.
His 1970's electric band, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, performed a
technically virtuosic and complex style of music that fused electric jazz and
rock with Indian influences.
John McLaughlin is a leading guitarist in jazz and jazz fusion.
His style has been described as one of aggressive speed, technical precision,
and harmonic sophistication. He is known for using exotic scales and
unconventional time signatures. Indian music has had a profound influence on
his style, and, it has been written, he is one of the first westerners to play
Indian music to Indian audiences. He
was influential in bringing jazz fusion to popularity with Miles Davis,
playing with Davis on five of his studio albums, including Davis' first
gold-certified Bitches Brew, and one live album, Live-Evil.
Speaking of himself in an interview with Going Thru Vinyl, McLaughlin has
stated that the guitar is simply "part of his body," and feels more
comfortable when a guitar is present.
McLaughlin has been cited as a major influence on many 1970s and
1980s fusion guitarists. Examples are prominent players such as Steve
Morse, Eric Johnson, Mike Stern, Paul Masvidal, Al Di Meola,
Pebber Brown, Shawn Lane, and Scott Henderson. His influence did not
stop in the 80's, though; hardcore punk guitarist Greg Ginn of Black
Flag cited Birds of Fire by The Mahavishnu Orchestra which
inspired him to record more progressive guitar work and even record instrumental
songs. Current players still hold him as highly influential, including Omar
Rodriguez of The Mars Volta. According to Pat Metheny,
McLaughlin has changed the evolution of the guitar during several of his
periods of playing. McLaughlin is also considered a major influence on
composers in the fusion genre. In an interview with Downbeat, Chick
Corea remarked that "...what John McLaughlin did with theelectric
guitar set the world on its ear. No one ever heard an electric guitar
played like that before, and it certainly inspired me. John's band, more than
my experience with Miles, led me to want to turn the volume up and write music
that was more dramatic and made your hair stand on end". Frank Zappa said
of McLaughlin in Guitar Player, Jan. 1977: "A person would be a moron not
to appreciate McLaughlin's technique. The guy has certainly found out how to
operate a guitar as if it were a machine gun. But I'm not always enthusiastic
about the lines I hear or the ways in which they're used. I don't think you can
fault him, though, for the amount of time and effort it must have taken to play
an instrument that fast. I think anybody who can play that fast is just
wonderful. And I'm sure 90% of teenage America would agree, since the whole
trend in the business has been "faster is better."
Perhaps the most unique tribute to McLaughlin's influence came in
the 1970s from the musician and comedian Darryl Rhoades. In the 1970s, he
led the "Hahavishnu Orchestra," which did parodies of the funk, rock
and jazz musical styles of the era.
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