Melody Makers in the 52nd year of its inception will be performing with Sudesh Bhosle, Hema Bhosle and Siddhant Bhosle and others at Kalidas Hall on 10th August and in Pune on 11th August.
Below are the excerpts from an interview:
Q1. Can you tell us a bit about the background of the group; how and when did it start?
In 1961 Pune was fIooded due to the bursting of Panshet and Khadakwasla dams which caused wide spread damage to Iives and property in the city. At that time four college friends namely Shri.Suhaschandra Kulkarni, Shri. Surendra Akolkar, Shri. Pramodkumar Saraf and Shri. Ashokkumar Saraf were inspired by the noble cause of collecting funds through their performances, in aid of the flood affected people of Pune. They gathered a few friends who were performing in College gatherings and some well known artists in Pune to form the group 'Melody Makers'. Today, Melody Makers is distinguished as a team of talented and intellectual artists in India, where graduates from different branches of Arts, Commerce and science such as Lawyers, Professors and Engineers are delving for new and creative forms of entertainment.
Today MeIody Makers is infused with new blood and this new team aptly Ied by Pravinkumar Saraf, son of Shri. Ashokkumar Saraf is proud to carry on the legacy and the name of 'Melody Makers' to newer heights. Today, Melody Makers have a skillful team of young extrovert instrumentalists, expressive singers and expert dancer. Melody Makers cater to a wider spectrum of audience and specialize in all kinds of music and functions like Film Star Night, Playback Singer nite, Vintage Melodies, Theme shows, Dinner and Dance, Raas Garba / Dandiya, Sangeet / Wedding, Birthdays / Anniversaries, Corporate Functions, Company Promotions, Charity shows, Instrumental shows, Karaoke night, Annual Gathering, Gazals, Bhajans, Qawwalli, Mimicry Night etc. Besides Hindi Film music, Melody Makers are well known for their capacity to present a variety of songs from various Indian languages such as Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Kannada, Tamil, Konkani and Marathi. The Gazals provoke you emotionally, the Qawallis and sawal-jawabs awaken your imagination and the folk songs show you rich music from the Indian soil. All this grand sequence of variety entertainment is presented in the swinging manner and proudIy say –
We specialize in Musical Entertainment of all kinds- "You name it, We do it!".
Q2. Have the orchestra artistes changed a lot over the years?
Melody Makers is known as an Institution which discovers, nurtures and develops new taIents. In the last 52 years they have contributed generously to the Music and Film Industry by introducing Playback singers Chandrashekhar Gadgil, Shrikant Pargaonkar, Bela Sulakhe, Vijay Kelkar, Sudesh Bhosle, Abhijeet, Sandeep Shah and Film and Drama Artistes like Yashwant Dutt, Sadanand Chandekar, Madhav Moghe, Johnny Lever, Shashikumar Iyer, Sandeep Chonkar, Parag Choudhary, Rashid Khan, Raju Pardesi, Maya Jadhav, Leena Das, Madhumati, Varsha, Madhur, Sonalee KuIkarni etc. just to name a few. Despite the high turnover rate of talent within the group, Melody Makers have managed to retain their unique flavor and identity.
Q3.What are the highlight of the Melody Makers; where all have you performed and which were the memorable performances?
Melody Makers are blessed with the active support of great maestros from the Film Industry and have accompanied noted actors like Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sunil Dutt, Rakhi Gulzar, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachhan, Rajesh Khanna, Jitendra, Asrani, Anupam Kher, Anil Kapoor, Amir Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Govinda, Sunny Deol, Sridevi, Dimple Kapadia, Helen, Jaya Pradha, Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chavla, Neelam, Madhavi, and many others. The Film Industry often invites MeIody Makers to enliven for its various Award nights like the FiIm Fare Awards, Lion's Award Nite, Ashirwad Film & TM Awards night, Lux Star & Style Awards nite etc.
The group has had the honour of performing before the President of India late Shri.V.V.Giri, Prime Minister of India late Shri. Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of Fiji IsIands, ministers and other dignitaries, in India and abroad. Melody Makers are often invited by the Govt. of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh for various fund raising programmes like Small Savings, Drought relief, Flood relief etc. Melody Makers have contributed to the national cause through innumerable charitable performances in aid of wounded soldiers, handicapped people, Children's Welfare and Medical Aid programmes to mention a few. We are also invited by various organizations such as Lion's, Leos, Jaycees, Rotary CIubs, Jain Social groups, Blind Association etc for fund raising programmes. Melody Makers has always led from the front when it comes to its Social and National responsibility in raising funds during National Calamities and crisis like Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Kargil war etc., and even performed at the border for the wounded soldiers absotutely free of cost.
Melody Makers were with Kishore Kumar for I0 years as his main backup group for most of his stage performances in India and in countries Iike U.S.A, Canada, West Indies, U.K, Holland, U.A.E., etc., which is an indication of his confidence in this perfectly synchronized orchestral group. MeIody Makers modestly attribute this success to the "Group Effort” and team work. Melody Makers had also performed with Kishoreda for the 'Sports Aid' programme staged at Indira Gandhi Stadium New Delhi, which was sponsored by 'UNICEF' and shown live all over the World.
Another cherished memory during our musical career at Patkar Hall Mumbai is the unforgettable – "An Evening with Amitabh".
What impressed us most was his concern about the show, his entry on the dot of time and on the right beat. The person carrying the image of 'An angry young man' on the screen is in reality a sensitive artist, a sincere lover of music and poetry and the master of a deep baritone voice. MeIody Makers shall never forget his memento with the inscription – 'Those Who Wish To Sing AIways Find a Song'.
In 1982 MeIody Makers were invited to add their 'Midas touch' and enrich the historic musical event nameIy "Mortal Men Immortal Melodies", in celebration of the Golden JubiIee of Indian Cinema, Cinema Vision and All India Music directors Association. It was a majestic attempt to dive into the depths of time and bring out from the ages that have rolled by, a few musical gems of Indian Film Music.
That evening symbolized the glorious reunion of two cultural legends – Lata Mangeshkar and Noorjahan and veterans like Ashokkumar, Rajkumari, G.M. Durani, Surinder Nath, Hemant Kumar, Talat Mehmood and Mahendra Kapoor. The younger generation was aptly represented by Nitin Mukesh, Shabbir Kumar, Anwar, Hari Haran, Praful Javeri, Jasveer Kaur, Kavita Krishnamurti and Penaz Mesani. It was an unforgettable experience to work with maestros like Naushad, Anil Vishwas, Jaidev, Khayyam, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Pamela Chopra and Siddharth Kak. Melody Makers took up the challenge of going into the musical past "The Golden Age of Melody" and the evening scaled unmeasureable heights as everyone harmonized in sublime exaltation.
Melody Makers is aIso the pioneer for doing Theme Shows such as 'Shankar Jaikishen Night', 'Rhythm of Rahul', ‘Albela Night with Bhagwan dada', 'C Ramchandra Night’, 'Golden Age of Melody', 'Hamari Asha', 'Hits of Kishore Kumar', 'Laxmikant Pyarelal Night', and 'R.D. with Kishore' just to name a few.
Melody Makers have given innumerable performances in India and Abroad and are truly InternationaI Artists as they have performed in the world's most prestigious auditoriums and stadiums like LincoIn Hall and Madison Square Garden (New York), RoyaI Albert Hall, Wembley Arena and Wembley Conference Hall, NEC Birmingham (London), Colombo Stadium (Sri Lanka), Indira Gandhi Stadium and Siri Fort (New DeIhi), Netaji Subhashchandra Stadium (Kolkata), Shanmukhanand Hall and Bhaidas Hall (Mumbai), Balgandharva Rangmandir and Ganesh Krida Kala Manch (Pune). Apart from Maharashtra, Melody Makers have performed in the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Chhatisgarh, Diu & Daman, Goa, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu with a Galaxy of Stars, Music directors and Playback Singers such as R.D.Burman, Usha Khanna, Kishore Kumar, Amit Kumar, Asha Bhosle, Shabbir Kumar, Sudesh Bhosle, Mohd. Aziz, Manhar Udhas, Anwar, Suresh Wadkar, Kumar Shanu, Gurdas Maan, Udit Narayan, Sukhvinder Singh, Anuradha Paudwal, Kavita Krishnamurti, Alka Yagnik, Poornima, Sadhna Sargam, Sapna Mukherji, Shobha Joshi, Sulakshana Pandit just to name a few. Melody Makers were widely acclaimed by all sections of people, press and critics For their sophisticated presentation, excellent team work, lively and ever fresh performances.
On the eve of their Silver Jubilee year in I986, MeIody Makers proudly announced the release of their first musical album ”SAPNON KI MANZIL", which had songs, sung by Playback singers Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle, Shabbir Kumar and Sudesh Bhosle. The lyrics For these songs were penned by Shri. Pramodkumar Saraf and Shri. Pradip Bakre and the music was composed by Shri. Pramodkumar Sarat and Shri. Satish Pandit as a first step towards their destination in the highly competitive worId of music, which was well appreciated by everyone.
In the last 52 years MeIody Makers have successfully had 40 International tours more than once to America, Canada, West Indies, East Africa, United Kingdom, Amsterdam, Denhag, Holland, Norway, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Muscat, Bahrain, Doha, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Singapore, MaIaysia, Hongkong, and Bangkok.
Q4. What is the current scene for orchestra groups? How was it in the past? Is there a lot of demand for orchestra groups presently?
The current scene is not so good for the Orchestra groups as compared to the past. Earlier the Theatre shows for orchestras and dramas were in big demand as the means of entertainment were limited. Today only 40% of theatre shows are done due to the high number of TV and Music channels which people have access to. However there is still a demand for orchestras in private functions, parties, annual days and festive seasons like Ganpati or Navratri.
Q5. What will your latest event be all about; what will be its highlights?
Melody Makers is the only group in the world which has successfully completed 51 years in the field of Entertainment. On the eve of its 52nd anniversary shows in Mumbai and Pune, ‘Melody Makers’ is proud to present a Melodious evening comprising of old and new Bollywood numbers along with guest artists ‘Playback singer Sudesh Bhosle and Siddhant Bhosle’ on the 10th of August 2013 at Mahakavi Kalidas Natya Kalamandir Mulund(W), Mumbai and on 11th of August 2013 at Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagruh Kothrud, Pune.
Sudesh Bhosle is well known Playback singer and Mimicy artist who needs no introduction. A real ‘Voice Synthesizer’ due to his ability to mimic any voice, be it a singer or an actor. He is better known as the voice of Amitabh Bachhan and has sung many popular numbers for him including, ‘Jumma Chumma’, Meri Makhana, Shava Shava, Sona Sona, Na na na re etc. He has dubbed for many stars including late Sanjeev Kapoor in his films like ‘Love & God’, ‘Qatl’ etc and for Anil Kapoor in ‘Tezaab’.
Siddhant Bhosle is the son of Shri Sudesh Bhosle and is as versatile as his father. He has learnt Indian and Western Classical Music since the age of 5. He is a very good musician who can play the guitar and drums expertly and has performed with 150 musicians on stage in Laxmikant Pyarelal, Kalyanji Anandji and Asha Bhosle shows. He is a singer, songwriter and has also composed songs for his Rock Band called ‘Red Seems Right’ in Mumbai for which he would be releasing an album shortly.
This show is all about pure entertainment and would cater to people of all age groups be it the younger or the older generation. An evening not to be missed for the evergreen and popular renditions by Melody Makers apart from foot tapping numbers and live wire performance from Playback Singer Shri Sudesh Bhosle and Siddhant Bhosle.
