Showing posts with label Sudesh Bhosle interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sudesh Bhosle interview. Show all posts
I was the first person to imitate Amitabh Bachchan-Sudesh Bhosle
7:41 AM
There is a lot more to Sudesh Bhosle than just being the voice of Big B
Noyon Jyoti Parasara (BOMBAY TIMES; January 29, 2016)
We hear RD Burman asked you to get your passport along the first time he met you...
(Laughs) I used to do a lot of shows with a group called Melody Makers. In one of our shows, we had Ashaji (Bhonsle) in the audience. When we met in her studio, she said she liked the way I sung dada's (SD Burman) song and asked me to record it. She took that to RD Burman. Panchamda thought I sounded exactly like his father. I got a call from his office and they asked me to come and meet him, along with my passport. When I reached there, I was told that Panchamda wanted me to accompany him to Hong Kong for a concert, where he wanted me to sing dada's songs! At that concert, Panchamda promised me that the first number he would record after reaching India would be with me. That's how I got my first break in Zalzala.
You are known as Amitabh Bachchan's voice. When did you realise you sound like him?
I was in Higher Secondary when I watched Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. Next day, I randomly used a dialogue of Amitabh Bachchan from the film on a girl. She did not hear it, but my friends did and thought I sounded exactly like Mr Bachchan. One of them came home with a tape recorder and started asking me questions in Dev Anand's voice and asked me to reply in Amitabh Bachchan's. From then on, I imitated Mr Bachchan whenever I got a chance. At that point, he was the biggest star and I was the first person to imitate him, while others were imitating stars like Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar.
Who did you mimic first?
KL Saigal. Then I imitated Kishore Kumar and SD Burman. The first actor I imitated was Om Prakash, and then Ashok Kumar.
What are the boons and curse of being able to sound like a particular actor?
The boon is people love you. Like how a joker is the centre of attraction in a circus, in a concert, the mimicry artiste steals the show. And because I could sing and act in different voices, I did my own shows. But the curse is that I lost my identity. People don't know what Sudesh Bhosle sounds like. I have sung for Jackie Shroff, Mithunda, Anil Kapoor and Govinda, but only the ones that I rendered for Amitabh Bachchan were big hits.
You started as an artist, making posters for films along with your father.
My dad, NR Bhosle, was a famous painter and he had done the posters of films like Mughal-e-Azam and Dosti. I joined him in 1974 when I was just 14. I would say my best work, also my first, were the posters I made for Rajesh Khanna's Prem Nagar.
What do you think is the future of mimicry in the country?
Mimicry artistes never got the respect they deserved. But because of Johnny Lever, they are being respected today. And I think he is the number one in India and will always be. If any one can make you laugh for three hours, it is only Johnny Lever.
(Laughs) I used to do a lot of shows with a group called Melody Makers. In one of our shows, we had Ashaji (Bhonsle) in the audience. When we met in her studio, she said she liked the way I sung dada's (SD Burman) song and asked me to record it. She took that to RD Burman. Panchamda thought I sounded exactly like his father. I got a call from his office and they asked me to come and meet him, along with my passport. When I reached there, I was told that Panchamda wanted me to accompany him to Hong Kong for a concert, where he wanted me to sing dada's songs! At that concert, Panchamda promised me that the first number he would record after reaching India would be with me. That's how I got my first break in Zalzala.
You are known as Amitabh Bachchan's voice. When did you realise you sound like him?
I was in Higher Secondary when I watched Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. Next day, I randomly used a dialogue of Amitabh Bachchan from the film on a girl. She did not hear it, but my friends did and thought I sounded exactly like Mr Bachchan. One of them came home with a tape recorder and started asking me questions in Dev Anand's voice and asked me to reply in Amitabh Bachchan's. From then on, I imitated Mr Bachchan whenever I got a chance. At that point, he was the biggest star and I was the first person to imitate him, while others were imitating stars like Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar.
Who did you mimic first?
KL Saigal. Then I imitated Kishore Kumar and SD Burman. The first actor I imitated was Om Prakash, and then Ashok Kumar.
What are the boons and curse of being able to sound like a particular actor?
The boon is people love you. Like how a joker is the centre of attraction in a circus, in a concert, the mimicry artiste steals the show. And because I could sing and act in different voices, I did my own shows. But the curse is that I lost my identity. People don't know what Sudesh Bhosle sounds like. I have sung for Jackie Shroff, Mithunda, Anil Kapoor and Govinda, but only the ones that I rendered for Amitabh Bachchan were big hits.
You started as an artist, making posters for films along with your father.
My dad, NR Bhosle, was a famous painter and he had done the posters of films like Mughal-e-Azam and Dosti. I joined him in 1974 when I was just 14. I would say my best work, also my first, were the posters I made for Rajesh Khanna's Prem Nagar.
What do you think is the future of mimicry in the country?
Mimicry artistes never got the respect they deserved. But because of Johnny Lever, they are being respected today. And I think he is the number one in India and will always be. If any one can make you laugh for three hours, it is only Johnny Lever.
I did lose my identity. I was just the ‘voice of Amitabh Bachchan’-Sudesh Bhosle
8:16 AM
Sudesh Bhosle takes to stage, singing in the one voice that the world recognises him for. Wife Hema and their kids make the production a family affair
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; October 4, 2015)
"At one point, I did lose my identity. I was just the ‘voice of Amitabh’. No one offered me jobs to sing for any other actor,” says the soft-spoken Sudesh Bhosle when we meet him and his family at their Goregaon home on a hot Thursday afternoon. “But then, I realised that I was an entertainer, and the job of an entertainer is to give the audience what it wants. It wants Amitabh Bachchan songs, sung in Amitabh’s voice. So, that’s what it gets,” says the 53-year-old, who has been singing for almost 30 years now.
Sudesh has sung with the likes of Kishore Kumar and dubbed for Sanjeev Kumar but earned his fame when he sung Jumma Chumma De De for Bachchan in the 1991 movie Hum. Ever since, he has sung for the veteran in almost all his movies, the last one being the February release, Shamitabh. Now, he is touring India with his production Amitabh Aur Main. The next show scheduled is for October 10, a day before Bachchan’s birthday, at Sion’s Shanmukhananda Hall.
Expectedly, Sudesh will deliver Bachchan hits, in varied moods, including Rim Jhim Ghire Sawan and Khayike Paan Benaras Wala and the more recent Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Bachchan, Sudesh says, was supposed to attend the show but is busy. “But, he has given his blessings and approved all content.” The show is a family affair with Sudesh’s wife Hema (47), and their son Siddhant (21) and daughter Shruti (23) pitching in with individual talents, both on and back stage.
Siddhant will take the stage, singing along with his father, giving old classics a modern twist, adding guitar riffs and edgy arrangements. Hema, as producer, is responsible for logistics, but also plays the piano. Hema used to play with her father Ashok Saraf’s band, Melody Makers in the 80s, and that is where she met Sudesh. Shruti, a JJ School of Art graduate, handles the set design with the company Dot Line & Space, and is responsible for styling her father and brother.
It’s because of her, Shruti quips, that her father looks well turned out on stage. “He is very laidback about his look but I keep coaxing him. The last time, he wore a red coat on my insistence. That’s new for him. It’s us women who make all the noise. These two just want to sing.” The family laughs, but agrees.
The brain and motivation behind the production — the first show kicked off in May — is Hema, who eggs everyone on. “She is the one responsible for the concept and ensuring that everything runs smoothly,” says Sudesh.
Sudesh is a competent mimicry artiste, and can do a mean Sanjeev Kumar and Ajeet, but since 1991 when he sang for Bachchan in Ajooba, his career has been tied-up with that of the actor. “First, I sang Ya Ali Ya Ali in my own voice. Laxmikantji (of Laxmikant-Pyarelal) told Shashi Kapoor, the director, that I could imitate Amitabh’s voice and sing in it. When Amitji heard the song, he said now that he has found someone who sounds like him, he won’t sing again. But, he has started singing again,” he laughs. “He is a good singer and he knows music. And he has the first right to his own voice!” The show, the family admits, attracts a largely older audience.
But, the Bhosles want to make it hip. This is where Siddhant comes in. The singer and guitarist of Red Seems Right, who wants to be an international popstar some day, says, “I add guitars riffs to make the songs feel modern. I also do mash-ups, and sing them my own voice. Not a lot of young people come for the show, but that will change.” Sudesh adds, “Youngsters may not know the likes of Shashi Kapoor or Rajendra Kumar, but they all know Bachchan.” Yet, they play to a packed hall on most nights, says Hema. “I think along with the songs, people also love when Sudesh mimics Bachchan. He says the dialogue before My Name is Anthony Gonsalves, and then the Kabhi Kabhie dialogue. People really connect with that.”
Even though it’s Bachchan who is his muse right now, Sudesh was a Kishore Kumar when growing up. That he worked with him was a landmark event. “I did shows with him, where I used to be the host. We even used to sing together. I am his biggest fan.” That being said, it’s Amitabh Aur Main that is the mainstay for this family now. Sudesh says shyly, “Even Lataji has said that if she had to sing Yeh Kahaan Aa Gaye Hum, she could do it either with Amitji or me. No one else will do.”
In March, the family is set to take the production to America where, they are sure, it’ll do well. “Audiences in the States react even better than those here. It’s because it reminds them of home,” says Hema. “They laugh, they shout and they cry. It’s like we are bringing a part of India to their doorsteps."
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