Kiwi-Indian invited to perform at RD Burman India concert

Gopal Bhatia, a presenter in an Auckland radio station, is travelling to Mumbai, India later this week to perform at the RD Burman tribute concert.

The concert ‘Love You Pancham’ is a tribute to legendary Indian musician RD Burman on his 78th birth anniversary and will be held on Monday, June 26 at a popular auditorium in Sion, a suburb in Mumbai.

Gopal Bhatia is the only international singer to perform at the concert and share the stage with singers Rajesh Iyer, Bella Sulakhe , Sanjivani , Srijit, Sachin Pilgaonkar. The concert will also witness a performance by singer Asha Bhosle, who will be attending the event along with many other big names in the Bollywood music industry.

“I will be travelling to Pune first to perform at another concert ‘Strings of Pancham’ on Friday, June 23. This show will feature RD Burman’s original musicians which will be followed by a performance in the ‘Love You Pancham’ concert in Mumbai on June 26,” Mr Bhatia said.

Gopal Bhatia started singing from a young age and gave his first stage performance at the age of 18. He has performed in concerts mainly in India, New Zealand and has also travelled to Germany and Singapore for his shows.

“I have had a passion for music from a very young age, as I have come from a musically sound family. Growing up cine music always caught my interest, particularly the likes of legendary singers Kishore Kumar Saheb, Rafi Saheb and the Mangeshkar sisters. I have been given the songs of Kishore da to perform ever since I started performing for live shows,” he added.

On being asked what does this concert mean to him, Mr Bhatia responded, “I feel very honoured to have received the invitation by Nitin Shankar to perform at this concert. Mr Shankar has been instrumental in producing and arranging music for the best of Hindi cinema,”

“Meeting and performing in front of Asha Ji for the third time and having the opportunity to perform in the presence of many Bollywood personalities is incredibly special to me, and as is performing with most of RD Burman’s original musicians,” Mr Bhatia said.