About: Kanwal

Kailash Kher is an Indian music composer and singer. He sings songs with a music style influenced by Indian folk music and Sufi music. He was inspired by the classical musicians’ Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and the Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Kailash Kher received the Padma Shri award in 2017 from the Indian government. He has also received two Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer: one for the Hindi film Fanaa (2006) and one for the Telugu film Mirchi (2013), along with several other nominations. With his powerful voice and his unique style of music, Kher has established himself as one of the most popular playback singers in India. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kailash_Kher

Do listen – in to the re – broadcast of this wonderful conversation recorded many years back, for sure, today, 13th June, on our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST

Mahalakshmi Iyer is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi, Assamese and Tamil songs. She has sung in many other Indian languages as well, including Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Odia, Gujarati and Kannada.

She sang on the Academy Award-winning song “Jai Ho” for A. R. Rahman in the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). Specifically, she sang the Hindi words between the short “Jai Ho” chants, as well as portions of the verses (most of which were sung by Sukhwinder Singh). She was known for her performances in songs like “Kabhi Sham Dhale” from Sur – The Melody of Life (2002), and many more. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahalakshmi_Iyer

Do listen in to this conversation, recorded many years back – know about her journey, about her many mile stones and much more. Do listen – in for sure, to the re – broadcast, today, 3rd June, on our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST

Suman Kalyanpur is an Indian playback singer. Her career started in 1954.

Suman Kalyanpur’s first film song was a duet with Talat Mahmood in Darwaza (1954). She was a very popular singer and recorded songs for movies in several languages – Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Bengali, Odia, and Punjabi.

Suman Kalyanpur received the prestigious “Sur Sringar Samsad” award for the best classical song in a Hindi movie, thrice. She also received the Lata Mangeshkar Award 2009 from the Maharashtra government, the Ga Di Ma Award by Ga Di Ma Pratishthan, and the Mirchi Music Awards 2022 – Lifetime Achievement. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suman_Kalyanpur

On the show, we go back in time with Sumanji as she recounts many anecdotes – Do listen – in for sure, to the re – broadcast, today, 2nd June, on our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST

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Sukhwinder Singh is an internationally acclaimed Indian playback singer who primarily sings Bollywood songs. He is famous internationally for singing “Jai Ho” from the film Slumdog Millionaire which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

Sukhwinder Singh won the Filmfare Best Male Playback Award for songs “Chaiyya Chaiyya” from the movie Dil Se.. and for the song “Haule Haule” from the movie Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhwinder_Singh

This conversation, recorded many years back tracks his journey – Do listen in to this conversation, with Sukhwinder Singh – today, 22nd May, to our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST.

Tanwi Mookherjee Prigge serves as the President, India Association of Minnesota. She started volunteering at a young age for Mother Teresa and Ram Krishna Mission. She has been a resident of Minnesota for the last 18 years. An IT professional, she believes in service to others through her profession and volunteer work. She enjoys working with children and women in various communities, through her volunteer work, drama/theater/music, and encourages folks to step out of their comfort zone and have fun. She is excited about working with the Indian community and the community at large.

Ramla Hasanali was born in India but raised in a small country in the Middle East, “Oman”. Her roots are in Gujarat and Bombay. She moved to the US in 1999 to pursue a degree in Computer Science and has called Minnesota home for the last 12 years. An active member of the Dawoodi Bohra Community that practices in Plymouth, MN, she helps run Public Relations and Outreach for her group. She has served on the Edina Race and Equity Task Force for years drove systemic change in the City of Edina and helped her build deep connections in the school and government system.

Today, on the show, we talk about an event on Mental Health Awareness being organized by India Association of Minnesota – to learn about the event, do tune-in today, 17th May, on our Show, Saat Samundar Paar, on MeraSangeet Gold – at 9:00 AM,1:00 PM,5:00 PM, and 9:00 PM – EST. You can also catch the interview on MeraSangeet East at 11:00 AM EST

Shweta Basu Prasad is an Indian actress, writer, and director. She started her acting career with Vishal Bhardwaj’s Makdee (2002) and won the national film award for this movie at age 12. Receiving the award from former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam.

This was followed by Iqbal (2005) The Tashkent Files (2019) Serious Men (Netflix 2020) Ray (Netflix 2021) Criminal Justice (produced by BBC Studios India, 2022) Jubilee (Amazon Prime 2023). Shweta studied mass media and journalism. She made a documentary film on Indian classical music after college which premiered at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival and was then on Netflix for 3 years.

Shweta worked as a script consultant with Phantom Films under the mentorship of Vikramaditya Motwane and assisted Anurag Kashyap. Shweta is also a classical musician, she plays the Indian classical instrument sitar.

On the show today, we talk about her film, Retake, starring: Anupam Kher, Zarina Wahab, Danish Husain, being screened at the New York Indian Film Festival 2023. This episode is in partnership with NYIFF. So incase you missed it earlier, tune – in for sure, today, on 12th May, on our Show, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST.

Harshad Nalawade is an Indian filmmaker from Belgaum, Karnataka. His debut feature film, Follower, is based on his own experiences of living as part of a linguistically marginalized community in the town. The film had its World Premiere at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam, in 2023. Follower was partially crowdfunded and was selected for the NFDC Work-in-Progress Lab, 2021.

A graduate of Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Harshad started his career in films by writing and directing short films while working as an Assistant Director.

Harshad’s first short film, A Return Gift was nominated for Best Short at the New York Indian Film Festival, in 2016.

On the show today, we talk about Harshad’s debut feature film, Follower, being screened at the New York Indian Film Festival 2023. So incase you missed it earlier, tune – in for sure, today, on 12th May, on our Show, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST

Geetika Narang Abbasi is an independent filmmaker based in Gurgaon, India. She has edited and directed several documentaries and created media content across a range of subjects. She has collaborated with organizations like the Centre for Science and Environment, Landesa, Gates’ Ventures, Microsoft, and Public Service Broadcasting Trust, among others. She currently works under the banner of Also Ran Films.

Yasir Abbasi is a postgraduate in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and has been working as an independent cinematographer since 2002. His work, which spans different forms, has been shown and awarded at film festivals worldwide. He’s also the author of the bestselling book Yeh Un Dinoñ Ki Baat Hai: Urdu Memoirs of Cinema Legends.

On the show today, we talk about their documentary, URF, being screened at the New York Indian Film Festival 2023. In case you missed it earlier, tune – in for sure, today, on 9th May, on our Show, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST

Amit Paul is an Indian singer. His career started by being runner up on Indian Idol season 3. He debuted in Luck by Chance with the soft, romantic number “Pyar ki Daastan”, with Mahalaxmi Iyer as his co-singer. The song was written by the legendary lyricist Javed Akhtar. Reviews of the track were positive, and the song did well in the charts.

Alongside music, Paul has his own business in various sectors and is a socialite in the Northeast of India. He is an active member of various social enterprises and supports causes such as children’s education, disabled children and women empowerment. He has done many charity shows to support the underprivileged at home and abroad. He has also been made the state brand ambassador for North Bengal by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amit_Paul

This conversation, recorded many years back tracks his journey – Do listen in to this conversation, with Amit Paul – today, 28th April, to our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST.

Vikas Bhalla is an Indian film, television actor, singer and producer. He is trained in Hindustani classical music from Allahabad University, under Pandit Jialal Vasant. He appeared as a lead actor in films in the late 1990s, and went on to feature in several music and video albums.

In 1995, Vikas Bhalla made his film debut in Ramesh Modi’s Sauda, in which he played the lead role of Deepak, opposite Neelam. Alongside his acting career, he also pursued his career in singing and launched the albums Hai Dhuan, Awaara and Mehek Teri. His chart buster track “Hai Dhuan” from his debut album Dhuan got wide acceptance and made him popular and prominent singer. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikas_Bhalla

This conversation, recorded many years back tracks his journey – we talk about his films, about the many numbers that he has rendered, and much more – Do listen in to this conversation, with Vikas Bhalla – today, 24th April, to our Hindi Radio Show, From our Archives, on MeraSangeet Gold at 2:00 PM EST and on MeraSangeet USA at 5:00 PM – EST.