SPOTLIGHT
I BUMPED INTO RAJESH KHANNA THE OTHER DAY
Vishnu Sharma as Rajesh Khanna and Anubha Jha as Anju Mahendru took the audience back to the time when a superstar ruled Bollywood and the songs from his movies became anthems for a generation.
By SHAGORIKA EASWAR
Following the success of the inaugural Aap Ka Khayal Aaya – a tribute to poet and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi and actor-director-writer-producer Dev Anand – Sawitri Theatre Group presented the next in the series, a tribute to superstar Rajesh Khanna and lyricist Anand Bakshi.
The first segment, Shadows in the Sun, began with Jasmine Sawant, founder and artistic co-director of Sawitri, reminiscing about Rajesh Khanna’s phenomenal popularity.
“Those who shine the brightest have often to deal with dark shadows,” she said, sharing her love and admiration for the “only undisputed superstar” all the girls at her school spent their entire recess talking about.
As she spoke, an actress stood behind her, ready to carry the narrative forward, playing Jasmine in an encounter with Rajesh Khanna.
As “Jasmine” oscillated between astonishment and giggly delight at meeting the superstar – wasn’t he supposed to be dead? – Rajesh Khanna was suave and cool, reminding her of long forgotten details.
How he had thought her brown eyes beautiful – “My eyes are hazel!” she responded coquettishly. And then reminded him of how she’d ticked him off for borrowing her pen to sign autographs for a crowd of girls while she waited to collect one for her friend.
Artistic co-director Shruti Shah then came on stage to introduce the recreation of a fight between Rajesh Khanna and his long-time girl friend, Anju Mahendru, as they each deal with their troubled relationship, her partying and his self-centred life.
Vishnu Sharma eschewed the familiar mannerisms, the trademark kurta, even the actor’s iconic dialogues, playing him as a man tormented by his fading glory. Except for when an audience member shouted out, “I hate tears Pushpa” and he seamlessly corrected her. “Aisa nahi tha, it is ‘Pushpa, I hate tears’”
Anubha Jha’s Anju Mahendru was defiant and needy by turn. They parted ways to singer Bobby’s rendition of Zindagi ke safar mein... accompanied by Sanjay Divekar on the drums and Ramakant on the keyboard. He sang beautifully, I just wish he’d said phir and phool instead of fir and fool – specially since the words are repeated over and over again!
The cast shared little-known snippets from the actor’s life that defined his relationship with fame. Including one from the talent show that Rajesh Khanna won with Neeraj playing GP Sippy.
This was followed by a medley of Khanna’s best-loved songs.
Yeh shaam mastani, O mere dil ke chain, Mere sapno ki rani, Yeh jo mohabbat hai, Roop tera mastana, Mere naina sawan bhadon... Jha joined Bobby for duets like Achcha toh hum chalte hain, Bheegi bheegi raaton mein, Baagon mein bahaar hai, and the like, but you realize just how many of his songs were focused on him alone – the female was incidental!
Jha really worked the crowd, getting them to clap and sing along, and leaving them clamouring for longer segments as they moved from one hit to the next.
She invited Sharma back to sing Jai Jai Shiv Shankar with her and everyone joined in for a rollicking dance in the segment’s finale.
Jasmine Sawant, founder and artistic co-director of Sawitri.
Jasmine Sawant was back to introduce the segment on Anand Bakshi. This consisted of stories from his life intercepted with his most popular songs from blockbusters like Aradhana, Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony, Karz, Taal, and DDLJ, to name a few.
As Sawant said, Bakshi was often dismissed as a rhymester as he didn’t belong to the league of Shailendra, Sahir Ludhianvi, Shakeel Badayuni, Hasrat Jaipuri, Jan Nisaar Akhtar, and others who were poets first and lyricists later. But listen to Kuchh toh log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna, or Tu jo pakad le haath mera, duniya badal sakta hoon main and you understand why his words continue to move listeners today.
The next medley contained some of those all-time hits. Chaand aahein bharega, Mere mehboob kayamat hogi, Yeh sama, sama hai yeh pyaar ka....
Some are truly timeless – Sawant linked his ballad, Vatan pe jo fida hoga to the current situation in the world.
Dancers from Jadoo Entertainment rounded off the evening.
All in all, a fun, interactive evening which had the feel of an improv show as the singers and actors appeared to decide in the moment which song to sing and which to leave out. A little short on the play, perhaps, but everyone loved the songs.
But all good things must come to an end and Jasmine Sawant quoted Ralph Hodgson, as she signed off.
Time, you old Gypsy man
Will you not stay,
Put up your caravan
Just for one day?
The good news is Sawitri is back with another production, the iconic Charchaughi, on May 9 and 10, and the Fringe Festival is around the corner.