There are few pubs that offer retro music for its visitors and rarer are pubs in Chennai that present Hindi retro numbers on a weekly basis.
The 86th week of Jaya Ho held at Black and White Resto Bar, The Residency, anchored by renowned singers Jaya Rajagopalan and J S Shekar, saw the singers going down the memory lane to present some of the greatest hits of Rajesh Khanna.
And, the singers certainly did have a tough time accommodating a range of numbers in the three-hour format. After all, it was an ode to the actor who, apart from playing the most memorable roles, also happened to bag the best of the numbers.
From the rueful zindagi ke safar mein (Aap Ki Kasam) to the lovelorn verses in the form of mere deewanepan (Mehboob Ki Mehendi), the show reminisced some of the delightful hits that played a huge role in vaulting Khanna to dizzying heights.
The heroines of Khanna were as popular as the actor himself. Jaya Rajagopalan recreated the magical female numbers featuring some of his popular co-stars including Sharmila Tagore and Mumtaz like bindiya chamkegi (Do Raaste) and raina beeti jaaye (Amar Prem).
However, the interesting part of the retro event was the fact that it was staged in the most unlikely venue.
How many times do you get to visit the pub with your family and add to that a night entirely dedicated to retro music? Taking music out of the usual venues like music halls and performing stages, Jaya Ho has so far been staging shows dedicated specifically to legendary artistes like Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Lata Mangeshkar and of course Asha Bhosle by Jaya, while J S Shekar alternates in the voices of Mukesh, Kishore Kumar and Rafi.
Jaya Ho is also inching towards its 100th night which is scheduled for November 1.
To mark the milestone, the show will also feature a run up with countdown shows in the last five weeks before hitting the three digit mark.