Udit Narayan, live at CH&FC tonight
Popular Indian playback singer Udit Narayan arrived in Colombo yesterday along with a troupe of dancers, singers and musicians and is scheduled to make his first live public performance in Colombo tonight at the CH&FC grounds from 7p.m.
Speaking to the media at a briefing held at the Taj Samudra Colombo yesterday, the Bollywood star along with wife and fellow female vocalist Deepa, stated that he was happy to be in Sri Lanka, and called it a “beautiful nation of music lovers who listen to good melodies”.
Speaking to The Daily FT Narayan said, “I know my music is loved in Sri Lanka, and I have been entertaining Sri Lankans for nearly three decades even though this is my first public performance.” The Bollywood star, credited for singing Bollywood hits in 32 Indian languages, said that he will sing a “surprise” Sinhala song which he has been rehearsing during the last few days, and hopes to see a big turnout at the show.
Narayan and his troupe of backing singers, dancers and musicians have been brought to Sri Lanka by MTV, MBC and Balcony Six Entertainment. Print partners for the event are the Wijeya Group.
Narayan, began his career in the 80s and got his first break when noted composer Rajesh Roshan asked him to playback for the Hindi film ‘Unees Bees’, where he was given the opportunity to sing with veteran Mohammed Rafi.
He later provided playback for a number of films, the most notable being ’Sannata’, ‘Bade Dil Wala’ and ‘Tan-Badan’. His career took flight in 1988 when Anand-Milind gave him the opportunity to sing all songs on the soundtrack for the successful Bollywood movie ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’, earning him a prestigious Filmfare Award, and being the movie credited for bringing Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla and Alka Yagnik into the limelight.
After his success with ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’, Narayan has grown to become one of the leading playback singers in the Indian film industry, having worked with giants like Rahul Dev Burman, Rajesh Roshan, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji, Bappi Lahiri and A.R Rahman. Some of the films he has been featured in include ‘Lagaan’, ‘Darr’, ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ and ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’. He has also sung hit songs for actors like Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar and Shahid Kapoor.
