BANGALORE: Bobby, who imitates all popular female singers, is now being recognised as junior Shreya Ghoshal. After all, he is the only singer who has given several orchestra performances in the city imitating popular singers. In a candid conversation with City Express, Bobby reveals the story behind his unusual voice.
Known as Shreya Ghoshal Junior, the artist is popular among various orchestras in Karnataka. Not only can he imitate Shreya’s voice to perfection but he also does cover versions of at least ten noted female playback singers. So what really led to this unique interest? “I sang a song called Madhya Ratrili Highway Rashteli from a film starring Ravichandran and Juhi Chawla at a stage show with South King orchestra in 1994. The next morning, my voice had suddenly changed, and I sounded like a lady. My doctor said my voice wouldn’t go back to how it was. That’s when I decided to continue my singing career by imitating famous female singers,” said Bobby.
Not many know that Anilkumar G is Bobby’s real name. When he was 12, he joined the Bangalore Boys orchestra and used to sing the then child actor Puneeth Rajkumar’s songs. He later joined the South King orchestra. “For many years I didn’t sing, because my father would always scold and punish me if I tried to pursue a career in music. But after finishing my graduation, I resumed and started imitating nearly all the famous female singers of South Indian movies. I have sung the songs of S Janaki and L R Eshwari on stage, and in their presence. Once L R Eshwari asked me to sing Eri Mele Eri after listening to Suttamuttalu Sanjegattalu in my voice. Mumbai has many male singers who sing in female voices. I am the only singer in Bangalore who can imitate all popular female singers,” Bobby added. Bobby learnt Carnatic music under Chintanapalli Subbaganga. “It helped me understand music better,” he further explained. He has sung an original song for the Kannada movie ‘Shishya’. He has also shared the stage with Sandalwood actors like Sudeep, Shivaraj Kumar, Duniya Vijay, Darshan and Prem. The artist can be contacted on bobbymelodies7@gmail.com