As the
old adage goes, a gem never remains unnoticed, and is eventually spotted and
given its due it deserves. Mahesh Kale fits the bill to the hilt. Having enthralled
the audiences worldwide for years, he finally got his due, thanks to the film “Katyar
kaljat ghusli”. His renditions in the film are already topping the charts and
bringing him lot of adulation's and awards. Singing for this film was like batting on the home ground for Mahesh, for the play on which the film is based
is adorned with musical gems, a master piece in itself, by his guru Pt.
Jitendra Abhisheki. The much revered Panditji’s compositions, Mahesh has been
singing for years now. Maestro named Shankar Mahadevan only added to the
musical prowess, with soulful compositions which are on everyone’s lips. Mahesh
gave full justice to the songs helmed by Shankar ji in the film. His song Aruni
Kirani is heard everywhere across India and abroad. The appeal is such that,
even the younger generation is singing it with lots of fervour.
With Katyar,
Mahesh is a household name now having catapulted him into a bigger league,
which he always deserved. With immense talent and the readiness to work hard
the appreciation and adulation was a foregone conclusion. His penchant for
adding new musical forms to his repertoire is not surprising and the thought behind
it is worth appreciating. He constantly looks for avenues where he can bring to
the fore various forms of musical gems which are forgotten or are not fancied
by the contemporary audience, be it tappa, thumri, natya sangeet, kirtans etc.
His brainchild “Mélange”, “Songs of the divine: Kirtan” is a testimony to it.
Both projects of his are already a hit and appreciated by the connoisseurs of
music.
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| Mahesh singing Thumri |
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| Mahesh singing Natya Sangeet at Melange |
His latest show “Sur Niragas Ho”
is running to packed houses across India & abroad and this is just the
beginning. I must say it sounds cliché but it is damn true. He is unleashing
his musical genius through his choc-o-block calendar and the audiences aren't complaining
a bit, rather they are asking for more. I am privy to many of his audience celebrations
and their maddening love for Mahesh. With recent success of Katyar, he is on a
selfie spree, signing autographs for the appreciating crowd. Where ever he goes
he is surrounded by hungry selfie seekers who want to bask in his adulation and
boast in front of their friends having met and photographed with Mahesh. I have
even seen display pictures of Mahesh on Whats App of many of his fans. That is
some fan following I must say. In recent times he has performed with many a stalwarts
in attendance. His renditions were lauded by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, At
Prithvi theater (theater group started by Shashi Kapoor and his wife Jennifer) the
audiences listened to him in rapt attention. The one and only Zakir Hussain
invited Mahesh to perform with him at Prithvi.
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| Mahesh with Zakir Hussain at Prithvi |
