Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; January 20, 2019)

Actor, dancer, wife, mother, parliamentarian and grandmother, Hema Malini has donned many hats over the years. Even at 70, she is raring to go and willing to extend herself as an artiste and a politician. She is the evergreen ‘Dream Girl’ and during a candid chat with BT at her Juhu residence, she talks about her upcoming dance ballet, Ganga, which she is all set to perform at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on January 22 in Varanasi, how she has lived life as it happened to her and about the joy of seeing her grandchildren enjoy themselves when she practises dance at home. Excerpts...

You will be performing the ballet Ganga during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Varanasi. Where did you draw your inspiration for the ballet?
The idea to do a ballet on the Ganga was there in my mind for the last four-five years. It was easier for me to do a ballet based on any of the other religious figures. I did a 12-minute performance with Esha (Deol, daughter) initially. The music for that performance was scored by composer Ravindra Jain. He kept insisting that I should do the longer version of the ballet as well. I couldn’t do it at that time and then, he passed away. I felt very bad and I thought that I wouldn’t be able to do it. However, things fell into place when Ashit Desai came on board to compose the music. And, some eight months back, Sushma ji (Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister) told me that I should stage the ballet on the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. Bhagiratha tried his best to bring Ganga to earth, and I have put in a lot of effort to bring her alive on stage.

What do you aim to convey through this dance performance?
It is a project for the country. When I recently visited Banaras, I realised that Ganga is very clean. That’s a cause I would like to support. Conservation of water is yet another topic that needs to be addressed. In my constituency Mathura, people complain that the water is salty (khara pani). Rivers are polluted, which destroys ground water as well. I can get pumps installed, but what comes out is salt water.

At 70, you will be performing live for close to two hours and you will be suspended from a harness as well. Not many from your generation will try doing that…
It is a contemporary ballet that is set over many yugas. So many artistes are suspended from harnesses during performances. And, if it is for a ballet on Ganga, I better do it. She is descending from the heaven... karenge aur kar ke dikhayenge (laughs!). When I am on stage, I can perform for one-and-a-half hours non-stop, but if I am sitting idle, I feel tired. That’s when you think of all kinds of pain (laughs!). I think it is the mindset.

You are not just an artiste, but also a Lok Sabha MP. What do you want to achieve in the next five years, in the field of dance and politics?
I am not a jyotish to predict that. My whole life has been about accepting whatever happens. I have not created my own path, I live life as it comes. I never wanted to be an actress, but it happened to me and I embraced it. I didn’t want to be a Member of Parliament either, but that too, happened and I did it.

Has Dharam ji (Dharmendra) seen your performances? What has his response been?
He has seen the Yashoda Krishna ballet just because Ahaana (Deol, younger daughter) was in it (laughs!). Once when he saw me in my costume for a ballet, he said, ‘You don’t look like someone who belongs to me. You look like somebody from another world and I am unable to connect with you’. When somebody is possessive about you, they don’t like to see you as anything else. It’s a different feeling, which we cannot express.

Your daughters, Esha and Ahana, are dancers. Do your grandchildren, Darien and Radhya, also show inclination towards the arts?
Ahana’s boy gets excited when he sees me rehearsing. He is already like a big actor. I can see that quality in him. But he is also the son of an intelligent father and might want to go into business as well. Radhya (Esha’s daughter) also wants to dance. If I am dancing, she tries to imitate me. Children do what they see.

Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 8, 2017)

On Janmashtami (August 14), Hema Malini will make her debut as a singer with an eight-track bhajan album, Gopala Ko Samarpan, to be released at the ISCKON temple in Juhu. The music has been composed by maestros Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Rajan and Sajan Mishra.

The actress-Parliamentarian credits poet Narayan Agarwal for convincing her to take on this challenge. A Krishna bhakt, he has penned the lyrics of all the eight bhajans and wanted Hema to sing them since he heard her chanting Soundarya Lahari — a famous literary work in Sanskrit believed to be written by sage Pushpadanta and Adi Shankara — in an album a couple of years ago. “Her Sanskrit pronunciation is impeccable and that’s vital for any recitation. Hemaji was initially unsure if her political assignments would leave her with enough time to rehearse. It was a Herculean task and needed plenty of coordination but I didn’t let go,” he beams, recounting that the ‘Dream Girl’ finally gave in.

Hema had sung for the first time in 1977 for Kishore Kumar’s Bengali track, “Gun Gun Gun Kore Je Mon”, which released during Durga Puja. Last year, she sang a duet with Babul Supriyo in his music video “Aji Suniye Toh Zara”. Explaining her initial reluctance to sing this time around, Hema says, “I’m not a professional singer and didn’t want to do anything half-heartedly. He insisted I listen to the compositions before taking the final call.” She admits she was under a lot of pressure to measure up, given that such stalwarts have composed the tunes, and did riyaaz for almost six months under Gagan Singh, rehearsing even on a flight. “I was really nervous because every composition is different and I had to keep the mood, the situation and the rhythm in mind.”

The songs were recorded at Lata Mangeshkar’s studio in the suburbs. Bhushan Lakhandri has choreographed a music video for one of the tracks. An added attraction is a few lines in Braj bhasha, which acts as a prelude to the tracks and explains the song’s situation. “I requested veteran lyricist Ravindra Jain to pen these lines. This is probably dada’s last work,” Hema says emotionally.

MUMBAI MIRROR (October 10, 2015)

Ravindra Jain: February 28, 1944 - October 9, 2015

Veteran music director, singer and lyricist Ravindra Jain passed away at around 4.15 pm at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital on Friday following multiple organ failure. He was 71. He is survived by his wife Divya and son Aayushman.

Jain was in Nagpur earlier in the week and was scheduled to perform at a concert, but following a drop in his blood pressure and urinary septicaemia, he was rushed to hospital.

Since there was little improvement, he was airlifted to Mumbai on Wednesday morning, for treatment in Lilavati Hospital. He died following multi-organ failure and other complications rising from renal failure.

Learning about his death, actress Hema Malini tweeted, "Just heard the shattering news that my beloved Dada, Ravindra Jain, passed away today after falling sick at a concert in Nagpur. I am devastated."

Lata Mangeshkar, who had offered a helping hand when she learnt of his condition, said, "I'm saddened to hear that great musician, poet, singer Ravindra Jain passed away today. May his soul rest in peace."

Jain, who was known as the Indian Stevie Wonder, will be remembered for his compositions in films like Chor Machaaye Shor, Geet Gaata Chal, Chitchor, Saudagar and Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se. His score in Raj Kapoor's Ram Teri Ganga Maili bagged him the Filmfare Best Music Director Award in 1985. He had started his career as a music director in January 1972. The first film song he recorded was with Mohd. Rafi. It was never released.

He was honoured with the Padma Shri earlier this year.

Veteran music director Ravindra Jain passed away in Mumbai. He was 71. He was admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital following a problem in his kidney. Jain was shifted from Wockhardt Hospital in Nagpur to Mumbai by a chartered air ambulance for treatment at Lilavati Hospital in Bandra on Sunday. ANI tweeted the news of his death.

FLASH: Veteran music composer and lyricist Ravindra Jain passes away in Mumbai's Lilavati hospital

— ANI (@ANI_news) October 9, 2015

The viaually-challenged musician Jain composed music for hit films like Chor Machaye Shor, Geet Gaata Chal, Chitchor and Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se, in the 70s.

He was given a big break by Raj Kapoor, for whom he composed many super hit songs in movies such as Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Do Jasoos, and Heena, which was directed by Randhir Kapoor.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Jain widely composed music for many mythological movies and television serials.

His last popular album was Vivah (2006), a film directed by Sooraj Barjatya and starring Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao.

HINDUSTAN TIMES

After suffering a paralytic stroke, composer and lyricist Ravindra Jain was airlifted from Nagpur and brought to Mumbai, and is on a 48-hour dialysis period
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 9, 2015)


Music director and lyricist Ravindra Jain was shifted from Wockhardt Hospital in Nagpur, early on Wednesday morning at around 8.30 am, to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital, by a chartered air ambulance, for treatment. The 71 year old was in Nagpur for a concert scheduled for Sunday, but could not participate owing to low blood pressure and urinary septicaemia, which made him ill.

Jain's BP went down to 90/60 and he suffered a paralytic stroke, after which he was admitted to Platina Heart Hospital, run by cardiologist Pramod Mundra. But when his condition worsened he was shifted to Wockhardt Hospital on Tuesday.

"He is on 48-hours of dialysis, at the moment. We have no financial difficulties and are monetarily stable, because my husband was always on the road with his performances. He has two film songs in the pipeline too," Jain's wife, Divya, told Mirror, adding that Lata Mangeshkar sent immediate aid when she heard of Jain's critical condition and has already called thrice asking for an update on his health.

It was Jain's brother, Manindra who rushed to Nagpur and insisted on immediately moving Jain to Mumbai. Close friends, Suresh Wadkar, who sang the hit number "Tujhe Dekhne Ko," written and composed by Jain and Sonu Nigam, rushed to their aid. Sooraj Barjatya dropped by on Thursday evening.

"Since my husband was the only composer, Hemaji (Hema Malini) trusts him with her ballet and dance performances. He was closely associated with the film fraternity, despite his absence from composition for films. Hemaji insisted on coming to the hospital but I told her that no one is permitted to meet him in the ICU, until he is stable," Divya pointed out.

When contacted, filmmaker Subhash Ghai, who had been informed of Jain's critical condition, recalled his first interactions with the passionate musician. "Few people know that for one of my earliest films, Kalicharan, Ravindra had written 'Ja Re Ja O Harjai' which has been remixed several times into club tracks over the years and continues to be a hit. Lataji sang the song, and Kalyanji-Anandji raved about it for long after its release. We worked on many films after that too," the original Hero director said.

With a sigh, Ghai recalls how Jain worked through his father's death for the music of Saudagar as well. "Ravindra loves immersing himself in his work to forget his other troubles. It is his mantra to get out of tragedy and his music takes him through his pain. When his fingers hit the harmonium, all his problems disappeared," Ghai reminisces. It was during the promotions of Saudagar, that Divya, who was then a popular poetess, had insisted that she wanted to marry the visually-challenged musician.

Jain, who won the Filmfare Best Music Director Award in 1986 for Raj Kapoor's Ram Teri Ganga Maili, became a rolemodel for many people, as he overcame his visual disability and continued his musical journey. He was nicknamed 'Bollywood's Stevie Wonder'.

His son-in-law, Sanjay Jain, CEO of the Zilla Parishad at Wardha, also flew into Mumbai yesterday, and told Mirror, "Ravindra ji was ailing for quite some time and was under treatment. He came to Nagpur only to keep his commitment that he had made earlier this year."