Voice vault

THOUGH SUDESH BHOSALE IS RECOGNISED AS AMITABH BACHCHAN'S VOICE, THE SINGER/PERFORMER/MIMICRY ARTISTE HAS ENTERTAINED AUDIENCES FOR FOUR DECADES WITH HIS UNIQUE TALENT

- WRITES FARHANA FAROOK

His unusually long gem-adorned fingers grab your attention. Once they held the brush that painted starry faces on Hindi film posters. With time the same fingers wrapped themselves around the mike as Sudesh Bhosale regaled audiences with his mimicry of actors from Ashok Kumar. Rajkumar, Ajit, Asrani, Mithun Chakraborthy... to reprising songs by legends K L Saigal, SD Burman, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Mohammed Rafi... apart from his own. Through the decades he could emulate around 21 singers and 28 actors.

But what seems like a karmic resonance is his association with Amitabh Bachchan. Till date people find it incredible that the voice behind the animated Jumma chumma (Hum) is not that of the Big B but Sudesh's. The realisation that he could emulate Bachchan's baritone came early when in college Sudesh enacted a sombre scene from Amar Akbar Anthony, which had Bachchan's Anthony grieving over the death of his patron pastor. While he's sung for actors Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Mithun, Jackie Shroff... his voiceovers for the Big B remain an exclusive chapter. Sona sona, Shava shava, Meri makhna... have not only created history but also invite hysteria when sung on stage each time. Bachchan's comment, “Bhaiya, humari aur aapki awaaz to bahut milti julti hai...” is no mean validation. That every year, right at 12.01 am, Bachchan's is the first birthday message that Sudesh receives is a sentiment he holds sacred.