Since the beginning of Hindi cinema’s journey, there have been several popular pairs, who have etched an indelible impact in the minds of movie goers. Be it yesteryear names in the industry like Raj Kapoor and Nargis or decades later, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, the magic and impact have been phenomenal. Presenting some of unforgettable melodies of several hit on-screen pairs in Bollywood, Aarohi, a Chennai-based retro band comprising amateur singers wowed the audience with their show Ek Mein Aur Ek Tu at the Museum Theatre on Saturday.
Beginning with Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega (Sangam) which was about a triangular love story, the programme went back and forth through the decades to bring out some of the popular jodis like Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore (Gun Guna Rahe hai from Aradhana), Rajesh Khanna-Mumtaz (Suno Suna from Aap Ki Kasam), Shammi kapoor- Sharmila Tagore (Deewana Hua Badal from Kashmir Ki Kali) and Amitabh Bachchan-Rekha (Dekha Ek Khwaab film Silsila). Hosted by Juhi Sharma, the evening had singers, who are professionals bound by their love for music — Sudeep, Harishankar Mani, Priya Sabu. Prashanti Suresh, Vidhya Srinivasan, Aarti Varanasi and Girish.
Raising funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India, Chennai Chapter, Aarohi, which always has social cause as its fulcrum, the duets were chosen to highlight the hit pairs and musical geniuses of the era. Some of seldom-heard melodies on stage that were performed included Chalo Dildar Chalo (featuring Rajkumar-Meena Kumari) from the film Pakeezah and Naam Gum Jayega (Jeetendra-Hema Malini) from the film Kinaara.
Covering five decades, the show had some more recent numbers like Gazab Ka Hai Din (Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla in Qayamat se Qayamat Tak ), Dekha Hai Pehli Baar (featuring Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan ) from Saajan and Baazigar O Baazigar starring Shah Rukh and Kajol from Baazigar. A capable orchestra played a pivotal role in recreating the magic of decades past effectively. And by the end of it, it was doubtful that anyone thought that these were amateur performers.