Usha wows audience with Hindi, English and even Sinhala hits
As India celebrated its 71st anniversary of independence on August 15, the BMICH Colombo was engulfed in a mesmerizing musical extravaganza.
‘Symphony of Freedom,’ a collaborative venture of the High Commission of India and the Ministry of Higher Education and Cultural Affairs Sri Lanka, was a celebration of India’s Independence Day and the centuries-old friendship of the two nations. The musical journey featured a well known Indian songstress Usha Uthup, backed by her own ensemble.
Usha Uthup: Versatile songstress. Pix by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi
Usha made her name in Indian pop, film, jazz and as a popular playback singer. Singing her best loved hits along with some Sinhala covers; she entertained the audience turning her solo concert into a sing-along. Her flamboyant performance and the charismatic, husky voice were loved equally by both Sri Lankans and Indians.
Starting her career as a singer from a night club in Chennai, she made her way to playback singing in 1970. A fluent singer in English and Hindi alike, Usha was awarded with the Padma Shri, India’s civilian award in 2011.
Clad in a glamorous red and black sari, Usha got the concert off on a high, singing Mac Devis’s pop hit, ‘I Believe in Love.’ The audience was further enthralled when she sang the theme song of James Bond’s Skyfall originally sung by Adele.
Usha humbly recalled her beginnings as a singer, Radio Ceylon being a significant part of her journey. “All my originality comes from listening to Radio Ceylon and it became my greatest inspiration,” Usha remarked.
Bringing some of the greatest Bollywood hits from the late 1900s’, Usha sang ‘Dum Maro Dum,’ ‘Piya Tu Ab To Aaja,’ a popular Punjabi folk song ‘Mera Laung Gawacha’ followed by the Sinhala popular songs, ‘Kandy Lamissi’ and ‘Yaman Bando Wesak Balanna’ to toe-tapping beats. The audience enthusiastically joined the chorus of the popular Tamil song, ‘Why This Kolaveri Di.’
Amal Roy on octapad, Raja Narayan Dev on keyboard, Nepal Chandra Shaw on bass guitar and Sumith Ramachandran on lead guitar were the musicians for the night.
Singing ‘Bombay Meri Hai’ and ‘Rambha Ho’ Usha brought the concert to a finale with her signature ‘Darling’ from the Bollywood movie 7 Kahoon Maaf for which she won the award for the Best Female Playback Singer at the Filmfare Awards in 2012.