Talk of the most prominent Bollywood actors, and one name that comes to mind is Shah Rukh Khan. The Badshah of the Hindi film industry has entertained audiences for over three decades, and he seemed lucky to have got so many iconic Bollywood songs throughout his career.
A recent concert in Auckland titled Dil Se celebrated the melodies and music of SRK.
The event, which took place on Saturday (November 2022) at the Dorothy Winstone Centre (16 Howe Street, Freemans Bay), saw more than 500 people in attendance.
The event was organised by Shyamal Rawal of the musical group Swaranjali. It saw 16 singers, including Rachit Bhatia, Joseph Jose, Ankita Ghatani and Nishta Raval, taking the audience through a musical journey of SRK's 25 hit songs. One of the most renowned musicians in Auckland, Hemant Thaker, coordinated the music.
The vibe was ecstatic, joyful and filled with love and magic that SRK has created over the years. Each song, be it Har ghadi badal rahi, Ae Ajnabi, Dil Se or Janam Janam, managed to touch the chord of the audiences and transported them to ‘SRK’s magical and musical world.
Talking about the show, a much happy Shyamal told Indian Weekender, "I am really overwhelmed by the response we got for our show. It is a very fulfilling and satisfying experience to have been able to present this show in exactly the way I wanted and envisioned. I am so happy I could choose the right songs and have such talented singers to suit them. Each singer nailed their performance. I can't thank enough my super-talented team and, of course, the audience who cheered every song. The show has encouraged me to do a much better show next time.”
Even the singers expressed their joy at the event's reception and success.
Rachit Bhatia said, “It was a wonderful show, and it was great to sing some of SRK's most iconic songs in front of a great crowd. It was so rewarding to see the crowd enjoying themselves. Since the show was about celebrating SRK's hits, it was important to bring that cinematic magic through our performances. I'm glad that people loved the show so much."
The attendees, too, had all the good things to say about how they enjoyed the show.
One of the attendees, Kala Srihari, said, "It was a joyful nostalgic experience to hear my favourite SRK songs. I salute the organisers who were responsible for exhibiting and supporting local singing talents rather than getting expensive celebrities from overseas to sing the same songs. We want these local talents to be well promoted and shine more.”