A voice that has given India some of its most unforgettable songs now brings the timeless poetry of the ghazal to life. Witness The Grand Theatre turn into an intimate mehfil as Shilpa Rao brings her remarkable range to an evening of music, stories and soul-stirring verses.
From a powerhouse playback debut with Tose Naina in ‘Anwar’, followed by a string of chart-toppers like Chaleya, Khuda Jaane, Bulleya, Ghungroo, Besharam Rang, and Chuttamalle, Shilpa Rao’s magic has become part of the soundtrack of contemporary India. With a National Film Award, Filmfare Awards and major regional honours to her name, she has made her mark across languages, genres and generations. Chances are, at some point, Shilpa’s voice has found its way into a song you know by heart.
In ‘Gulaab – Ghazals by Shilpa Rao’, one of India’s most distinctive voices brings together timeless poetry, legendary singers and the stories that live between the lines. Through classical and semi-classical compositions, Shilpa revisits the works of poets including Mirza Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Mir Taqi Mir, Momin, Nasir Kazmi and Ahmed Faraz, alongside the enduring music of Mehdi Hassan, Noor Jehan, and Jagjit and Chitra Singh.
The show is as much about the stories behind the songs as the songs themselves. Faiz writing from a prison cell; Mehdi Hassan carrying his music through adversity; Ghalib’s legendary reverence for a single couplet; and the profound grief that found its way into Jagjit and Chitra Singh’s music. Each story offers a glimpse into the lives, loves, losses and longings that shaped some of the subcontinent’s most enduring words.
The performance also brings a fresh perspective to Shilpa’s own musical journey, as she reimagines some of her most loved Bollywood songs through the language of the ghazal. Her cherished Coke Studio collaboration, Paar Chanaa De, takes on a new classical form, bringing the folk soul of Punjab into conversation with the Urdu ghazal tradition.
With a live ensemble and a stage designed for intimacy rather than spectacle, Shilpa invites audiences into a world where every sher has a story.
Event venue
The Grand Theatre, NMACC, Jio World Centre, G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051, India
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