The Voice of Rafi here again

In the history of music, the late Mohammed Rafi of the Hindi film industry holds the record for being the ‘Most Wanted’ singer, even 30 years after his death.

While Elvis Presley could claim a similar record, Rafi would ‘out voice’ him by sheer numbers- millions of people around the world listen to his songs every day and would patronise anyone who has a resembling voice.

It is therefore no surprise that feature Bankim Pathak are well patronised.

He is scheduled to perform at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre on 145 New North Road, Eden Terrace in Auckland on Friday, June 24 from 7 pm.

Bankim has been hailed as the ‘Genuine Voice of Mohammed Rafi.’ The original singer rendered numbers that ensured the success of films at the box office and catapulted music directors and actors to dizzy heights of fame and fortune.

These included ‘Yahoo’ songs picturised on Shammi Kapoor and Joy Mukherjee love and romance numbers to suit the likes of Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand and slow hits evoking a volley of sentiments of any listener.

Bankim described his ability to sing like Rafi as “the greatest honour.”

“Mohammed Rafi was one of the greatest singers of modern India and his repertoire was beyond comparison. It is a privilege to render his songs on stage bringing out all the emotions that he did during his lifetime,” he said, during a telephonic interview.

Bankim said he was looking forward to his visit to New Zealand.

“I feel encouraged by the love and affection shown by lovers of music in your beautiful country and I will do my best to satisfy them again,” he said.

He is yet to decide the list of songs that he would render at the forthcoming show but promised that it would comprise all the popular numbers, including a few that drew encores from the audience last year.

Avish Sharma, a budding singer and son of Show Organiser Umesh Sharma, Keyboard player Bhupendra Patel and Rhythmist Shabbir Kumar will accompany Bankim at the Auckland event.