Category Archives: Bollywood

Save the dates for Ramaavan – A Musical

 

Do tune -in for a conversation with the Artiste-Educator-Producer-Director, Creator of Ramaavan – A Musical, Rimli Roy. She is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Surati, We are also joined by, Rimli’s brother, Rajesh Roy, who works in Mumbai as a composer for Bollywood films. He has composed the music for Ramaavan. Also, joining in the show is Writer, Actor, and Director, Anand Rao. He has been associated with Surati for almost a decade. He works closely with Rimli Roy on both artistic and strategic fronts.

Tune – in for sure, today, 18th October 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.

In conversation with internationally renowned musician, composer, music educator and scholar, Kanniks Kannikeswaran

Dr. Kanniks Kannikeswaran is an internationally renowned musician, composer, music educator and scholar who has consistently employed his knowledge, understanding in music to create works of art that build bridges across diverse communities and cultures. Centered on issues of relevance to humanity, Kanniks’ creations are grounded in history and spirituality and they integrate multi-dimensional story telling with movement, visuals, chants and ensemble music based on Indian ragas, in an overarching vision of no-otherness.

Today on the show, we talk about his film, Colonial Interlude – being showcased at the Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati 2023 https://www.iffcincy.com/ Do tune in for sure, 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 – on 20th August. 

In conversation with the very popular Indian folk singer, Malini Awasthi

 

Padma Shri Malini Awasthi is an Indian folk singer. She sings in Bhojpuri, Awadhi, and Hindi, she also presents Thumri and Kajri. The Government of India awarded her the civilian honor of the Padma Shri in 2016. She is known for her contribution to Bhojpuri music.

Malini Awasthi is a regular performer at the popular classical music festival, Jahan-e-Khusrau. She has a high pitch voice and is popular for the vendition of thumri, Thaare Raho Baanke Shyam. She participated in Imagine’s Junoon and has lent her beautiful voice to many films as well.

On the show today, we go back with Malini Awasthi on her journey – we also talk about her much-awaited performance at the Festival of Indian Music 2023, presented by the Indo-American Arts Council https://iaac.us/festival-of-indian-music-2023/– this and much more.

Do tune – in for sure, today, 8th August, 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.

 

From our Archives – Conversation with the popular Indian singer, Mohit Chauhan, on our Hindi Radio Show

Mohit Chauhan is an Indian playback singer, known for his work in Hindi films. He was a part of the Silk Route band. He has received two Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer and three Zee Cine Award For Best Male Playback Singer awards. He has recorded several songs for films and albums in many different languages and is one of the most prominent Indipop singers.

In 2011, he was featured in the third episode of The Dewarists for his song “Maaya”. He was also featured on MTV Unplugged in the same year. In 2017, he made his Gujarati language debut with the song “Jaag Re Banda” from the movie Last Chance. His first ever Himachali songs were “Puchhe Amma” and “Deva Mere” from the film Saanjh.

Mohit is an active participant in the not-for-profit public limited companies National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), which encourages young people to follow beneficial vocational training initiatives. Courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohit_Chauhan

Do listen – into the rebroadcast of this wonderful conversation recorded many years back, for sure, today, 8th August, 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

From our Archives – Conversation with the popular Indian singer, Kailash Kher, on our Hindi Radio Show

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

From our Archives – Conversation with the popular Indian singer, Mahalakshmi Iyer, on our Hindi Radio Show, on our Hindi Radio Show

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

From our Archives – Conversation with Indian singer, Suman Kalyanpur

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

From our Archives – Conversation with the popular Indian singer, Sukhwinder Singh, on our Hindi Radio Show, on our Hindi Radio Show

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, President and Ramla Hasanali, on the Board of Directors, IAM in conversation with us

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

Conversation – with Shweta Basu Prasad – on her short film, Retake – screening at NYIFF 2023

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.