Amitabh Bachchan’s two Holi songs Rang Barse and Holi Khele Raghuveera Awadh Mein are mandatory on every playlist during Holi.
Speaking on these two Holi favourites, Mr Bachchan tells us, “You know I don’t like to sing. But composer Aadesh Shrivastava and I were friends. He was like family. Whenever I was despondent I’d walk across to his music room. We sat and sang folk songs from our hometown Allahabad for hours. I felt very comfortable with him. The director Kuki(Ravi Chopra) and Aadesh felt I should sing Holi Khele Raghuveera in Baghban. I was reluctant. I’m no singer. One music expert in a newspaper said I’m atrocious at singing and that I should stick to acting. If you think I’ve done well it’s all because of those wonderful recording gadgets. They can make anyone sound good. You know I was tricked into singing for Baghban. Aadesh just told me to try these songs out for a lark. While I was doing so he recorded my voice. And didn’t even tell me about it. But to be honest I enjoyed it. The Holi song is what I heard my father sing from when I was 4 years old.”
About Rang Barse, Mr Bachchan says, “I had given another Holi song from UP to Silsila. That’s a legacy of my father. I learnt of this song through him. I used to sing ‘Rang Barse’ and ‘Mere Angnein Mein’ at all the Holi get-togethers at our house. That’s where Yashji (director Yash Chopra) and Prakashji (Prakash Mehra) heard these songs, got them into ‘Silsila’ and ‘Lawaaris’ and asked me to sing them. So I am in no way instrumental in getting these songs into the movies.”
Also Read: Be Happy Review: Remo D’Souza’s Cloying Father-Daughter Melodrama Could Do With Some Self-control
