Take A Supersonic Tour Of Pareeland With Suneeta Rao.
Not many pen down the words of a song the way poet and lyricist Rajesh Johri did…and guess what! This very song became an instant hit when Suneeta Rao sang the words of “Paree Hoon Main.” Normally, one would have written the phrase as Main Paree Hoon but only a poet could articulate the words differently. And yes, the song was performed by different people on different occasions especially night after night during the Navratri festival.
“In the 1993 Filmfare awards, I performed Paree Hoon Main for the first time Live, and it was broadcast on National TV…the rest as they say is history,” says Suneeta Rao.
It was the song “Bichua” by Lata Mangeshkar from the Bollywood film Madhumati that really inspired the making of Paree Hoon Main with music from the talented composer Lesle Lewis.
Born in Germany but brought up in India with Carnatic, Hindustani, Rock, Jazz, Blues, Western Classical and Bollywood influences, Suneeta chose Pop as her genre of music. She’s married to Jason West — Cinematographer and Filmfare Award Winner (2009) for the film Rock On! which is a story that reunites the estranged members of a rock band.
Recently, Suneeta Rao has been rocking the stage with her performance in the play “Gaa Re Maa” with music from Dhruv Ghanekar. After 18 years, she looks fit and knows how to woo her audiences with her captivating voice and mere presence. I recall attending Suneeta’s concert on New Year’s Eve in the 90s at Hotel Centaur, Juhu where she sang tunes from her album Dhuan and dance hits like the song Jingo by Carlos Santana and 100% Pure Love by Crystal Waters.
From being a singer to performing on stage, from her first music album Suneeta Senorita to her theatrical debut in Evita and the list goes on to many more musical performances for Grease, Bottoms Up and Man of La Mancha.
“I am basically a performer — I think I was born to be on stage. Being a trained classical dancer and singer, and with a passion for acting, I found musical theatre to be the ideal platform for me to hone my skills and reach out to audiences in my early career and then later on after I had had a career as a recording artist as well,” Suneeta explains.
Lyrics of Dekha Dekha and Paree Hoon Main still come to mind though it’s been nearly two decades since they released. The reason for that is the songs have meaning and may have sounded experimental at that time but the music had beats, bells and this beautiful bella — Suneeta. And the beautiful black and white video shot against the backdrop of an Indo-Gothic structure in suburban Mumbai is of “Paree Hoon Main,” considered to be an iconic song till date. Suneeta Rao continues to be the spokesperson of Laadli — a non-government organization that focuses on saving the girl child.
When we got talking about her future work, Suneeta said wants to be the voice for topics related to saving the environment especially climate change. The need of the hour, technically speaking!
Discography
- 1989 — Suneeta Senorita
- 1991 — Dhuan
- 1996 — Talaash
- 2000 — Ab Ke Baras
- Paree and other hits (Compilation)
- Chhoti Chhoti Batein (Single from a Various Artists album: Wajah Muskurane Ki)
- 2008 — Waqt
Photography
Suneeta Rao Archives
Hope you liked the last feature by Interactif in 2018. See you with more artistes in 2019. If you would like to get featured or leave a comment, drop me an email on shveta@interactif.in
