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The night Richa rocked Kozhikode

Bhangra, Sufi, melody, folk numbers rendered with effortless ease

MESMERISING: Richa Sharma performing at Tagore Centenary Hall in Kozhikode. — Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup

"Watch me tonight on stage," she said, smiling. That was Richa Sharma's answer when this correspondent asked her if she enjoyed performing live as much as she did playback singing.

A few hours later at Tagore Centenary Hall, it didn't take one long to realise that this gifted singer, who announced her arrival with `Ni main samajh gayee... ' (Taal), loved the stage.

The audience loved her too. She absolutely rocked on Tuesday night in the show — her first ever in Kerala — presented by Kairali TV, as she belted out songs of her own and other singers.

She began the show with `Mere maula... ' (Khaki), from which she moved on to `Dama dum mast kalandar... ' an ever-popular Sufi song.

The `Taal' number and first hit in Bollywood came next.

Then she brought the roof down with her masterpiece, `Mahi ve... '

She rendered about 20 songs, which showcased her versatility. She traversed with ease through melody, folk, Bhangra and Sufi with effortless ease.

She also proved she could be a fine mimic too as she imitated the styles of Noor Jehan (`Awaaz de kahan hai... ' and `Jawan hai mohabbat... ,' both from the film `Anmol Ghadi') and Reshma (`Lambi judai... ,'). Another number that got loud cheers was the evergreen Asha Bhonsle-Shamshad Beegum duet from `Kismet' — `Kajra mohabbat waala... ,' made unforgettable by the role reversals of Biswajeet and Babita during the picturisation of the song. Richa's own song, the racy `Nikal chali be... ' (Soch) also turned out be a hit among the audience. She was accompanied by dancers from the Mumbai-based troop, Rhythm. Remarkably, Richa sung all the songs from memory.

P.K. AJITH KUMAR

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