Hema Malini to sing Kishore’s Bengali tunes

KOLKATA: She was at the peak of her acting career when Kishore Kumar made her realize she could sing as well. Kishore’s conviction convinced her so much that Hema Malini had agreed to record two Bengali songs for him. But the plan somehow failed to materialize and the songs got shelved. Decades later, Hema is now all set to lend voice to the same songs that Kishore Kumar had set to tune for her.
How did the idea to re-create the magic that Kishore had nurtured so lovingly generate? Here comes the BJP link. Hema had confided this long-cherished story to her party colleague Babul Supriyo on their way to Jharkhand during the Lok Sabha poll campaign. Babul was quick to join the dots. Along with Hema, he decided to get the project on track after the polls. For the past six months, they have been meeting up, drawing plans, rehearsing the songs in Delhi and have been in touch with Sa Re Ga Ma, then HMV, that was also in the loop when Kishore had planned the project. They will be in Kolkata to record the songs at Studio Vibrations at Beliaghata, which is owned by singer Usha Uthup.
“It took a bit of convincing on my part to get Hema-ji agree to record the songs. We went on rehearsing and you will have to listen to her to believe how well she has picked up the songs. She has worked very hard on her accent,” said Babul Supriyo, who will be there throughout to assist Hema. “For both of us, Kishore Kumar is one of our greatest icons and we are doing this as a tribute to him,” Supriyo added.
Both the songs in question are in Bengali. The lyrics were written by Mukul Dutta, who was Kishore’s favourite lyricist. The latter was so thrilled with the words that he sat for days with the songs and composed the tunes before taking them to Hema Malini. He did this in the presence of her mother, who joined Kishore in convincing the otherwise reticent Hema.
The BJP MP from Asansol wanted to keep the lyrics a secret but revealed that both were love songs and if all go according to plans, the songs will be out before Valentine’s Day.
Sources at Sa Re Ga Ma, too, were not willing to spill the beans. “Yes, the recording is on and we have booked the studio for two days. There is a lot of co-ordination that needs to be done since the project involves celebrities like Hema-ji and Babul-ji,” said Sa Re Ga Ma spokesperson G B Ayer.