Golden era of melody returns

A Correspondent –

The golden era of melodious music combined with meaningful and pleasant lyrics will return to the stage as ‘Old is Gold VII’ on Saturday, May 2, 2015 from 7 pm at Dorothy Winstone Centre, Auckland Girls Grammar School.

The popular ‘Old is Gold’ series, produced and directed by Amit Sengupta under his Mohammed Rafi Academy of Music has branded itself as a unique programme.

Talent platform

‘Old is Gold’ has registered continuous success since its humble commencement in 2006, providing a platform for artistes to showcase their talents in vocal and instrumental music and (recently) Indian dance, as well as paying homage to various yesteryears’ evergreen songs of Hindi cinema.

The forthcoming programme would be the ninth programme under the Mohamed Rafi Academy and 11^th produced, directed and presented by Mr Sengupta.

Along with the first ‘Old is Gold’, the Academy has staged two other shows, ‘S D Burman Centenary and Tribute to Naushad’ in 2006, and ‘Ek Shyam Majrooh ke Naam’ in 2007.

Integration dances

‘Old is Gold VI’, held on September 7, 2013 was hailed as ‘special,’ since it incorporated for the first time Indian Classical and Folk dances. Three popular songs were presented in dance format, drawing wide appreciation of the capacity-filled auditorium. These included the dance performances of Upashana Chowdhury (to the song ‘Dhoondo Dhoondo’ from ‘Ganga Jamuna’ sung by Guncha Singh), Nirmita Ghosh and Ratna Venkat (‘Tu Hai Mera Prem Devta’ from ‘Kalpana’ sung by Jasveer Singh and Mr Sengupta), and Ratna Venkat (‘Mohe Panghat Pe’ from ‘Mugal-e-Azam’ sung by Ritika Badakere).

Given the nature of modern ‘Bollywood’, it is perhaps easy to state that interest in traditional Indian dance does not fare well compared to the Hindi film industry’s global influence today.

However, it should be remembered and acknowledged that veteran film and music directors from the ‘Old Hindi Cinema,’ particularly from 1950s to 1970s were responsible  for reviving these traditional Indian art forms deemed ‘immoral’ under the British Raj.

The success of ‘Old is Gold VI’, with its incorporation of music and dance, will resonate again at this year’s instalment, promising to deliver something different and refreshing.

Bouquet of talent

Scheduled to run for three hours (including an interval of 20 minutes), ‘Old is Gold VII,’ the forthcoming Show will account for 34 songs, 21 singers, nine musicians and three dancers.

The live Orchestra would include Joseph Alexander (Electronic Drums & Octopad), Basant Madhur (Tabla), Vishnu Mangalkari (Percussion), Amit Sengupta (Harmonium), Hemant Thaker and Madan Kalyan (Keyboards), Shivam Padayachi (Bass Guitar), Antony Yempee (Lead Guitar) and Diya Yempee (Rhythm Guitar).