The brand-new London Bollywood Orchestra cast a spell opening their inaugural concert at a packed Wilton’s Music Hall in east London with Lata Mangeshkar’s 1960s classic Lag Jaa Gale. Singer Rekha, the voice of Rani in the stage musical ‘Bombay Superstars’, sparkled throughout as she followed up with the S.D. Burman classic Rangeela Re – showcasing an impressive vocal range.
Navin Kundra, fresh from his ‘Frankie Goes To Bollywood’ West End outing, came on with back-to-back energetic Mohammed Rafi hits An Evening In Paris and Kya Hua Tera Wada under the deft guidance of music director and conductor Tim Pottier – who injected much excitement among his musicians and the audience with the crescendo of the R.D. Burman classic Piya Tu Ab To Aaja’s iconic Monica, Oh My Darling!
As a historic venue that has often doubled up as a film set, Wilton’s was the ideal setting for Vimal Anandpura’s dream of bringing the music of Bollywood legends alive with an accomplished live orchestra – complete with strings, percussion, wind and brass instruments. The energy on stage was palpable as the performers smiled and tapped away amid an infectious buzz from the impromptu singalongs and claps emanating from the audience. When a listener interjected to label the talented musicians as “jewels”, pleasant murmurs of agreement and applause soon reverberated across the hall.
The set-list was a race through eras, with the more recent tunes of A.R. Rahman and Shankar-Ehsan-Loy interwoven with some of the timeless chart-toppers from Indian cinema. By the time the singers got the crowd ready to scream Jai Ho! for the finale, the mesmerised listeners were left screaming “once more”.
And, with such a dream debut of the London Bollywood Orchestra with ‘Bollywood Greats’ over the weekend, there should most definitely be many more shows to come because these enduring melodies have found a new natural home – live on stage with this immensely talented set of musicians.
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