MILPITAS, CA: Bollywood’s journey of 100 years has come a long way since its first movie Raja Harish Chandra, a silent film in black and white, was released in 1913. Music and Bollywood are inseparable entwined in passion. Bollywood has songs for all emotions, situations and occasions. From romantic, sad, soulful numbers to ballads with Urdu couplets and trendy English lyrics; Bollywood music has changed tremendously over 100 years.
Bollywood cinema favorites were brought to life in this musical array of artists from the Bay area celebrating the variety of Hindi Cinema. The celebration “Tribute to Legends” took place at the India Community Center, Milpitas on the Friday 30 August and audiences enjoyed the essence of Bollywood music. It was a celebration showcasing the mesmerizing musical feast to give a glimpse into the evolution and glorious journey of Indian Cinema.
The principal artists were Melody Queen of Bay area Alka Bhatnagar, Seema Verma, Rohit Saini, Vikas, Jatinder Singh, Dhaval Shah, and Varun Tiwari. They were accompanied by legendary Robin John on Live Orchestration. The concert took the audience on a joyous ride when a special piece comprising selected songs from oldest Bollywood films, to the latest ones were presented. The event was a fitting tribute to Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle to name a few.
Alka Bhatnagar is a versatile singer known as melody queen in the Bay Area. She has sung with Bollywood top singers Kumar Sanu, Udit
Narayan, Abhijeet and King of Ghazals Anup Jalota. Alka and her team performed the hit melodies and peppy numbers of Legendary actors and actresses Raj Kapoor, Madhubala, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini, Sridevi to name a few. Events such as this are a breezy flashback and we got to enjoy the best of the era.
Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
