Roopkumar and Sonali Rathod mesmerise Lucknowites with soulful hits

Acknowledging and appreciating the love for their performances, Roopkumar thanked the audience and called them true ‘shrota’ (listeners) with a good understanding of music.

LUCKNOW: Classical singers Roopkumar Rathod and his wife Sonali won over city residents with their mellifluous voices during the HCL Concerts at the Kala Mandapam on Thursday. In a packed theatre, the duo presented a musical kaleidoscope, singing songs from across genres -- romantic, patriotic, qawwali, ghazal, Sufi, and Bollywood.

In particular, their duet Tere Liye from the movie Veer-Zaara left the listeners mesmerised. (Deepak Gupta/HT)

In particular, their duet Tere Liye from the movie Veer-Zaara left the listeners mesmerised. Roopkumar’s rendition of Aakhein Teri Kitini Haseen also earned thunderous applause. Sonali too struck a chord with the listeners with songs like Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha and Duniya Jise Kahte Hain.

Switching to the patriotic genre, Roopkumar sang all-time hits like Sandese Aate Hain and Zindagi Maut Na Ban Jaaye. His heart-winning performance was followed by the soulful qawwali duet Nigahein Milane Ko Jee Chahta Hai. After that, Roopkumar got the listeners into the zen mode with popular songs like Khwaja Mere Khwaja and Aye Jaate Hue Lamhon.

He concluded his set with the romantic hit Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai. Captivated by his Sufi voice, the audience kept applauding throughout the performance. Such was the impact of the singer duo that the enthralled audience kept insisting them to sing more songs. Giving in to the request of their fans, they sang four more soulful tracks -- including Tumse Pyar Hua, Saiyaan, Saanware and Abhi Zinda Hoon To Jee Lene Do.

The singer duo was supported by Rajkumar Sodha on saxophone and flute, Asrar Ahmed on tabla, Sushant Sharma on guitar, Harshwardhan Naseri on percussion, Akhlaq Hussain Warsi on harmonium, and Azhar Warsi on keyboard.