Gig review/ Pratibha Ke Rang

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Pratibha Singh Baghel/ Pratibha Ke Rang

Genre: Ghazal, film, Sufi

Presented by: Sufiscore

Details: NMACC Grand Theatre, October 9

Rating: *** 1/2

The last time I reviewed singer Pratibha Singh Baghel's show when she performed at the Nehru Centre a year ago, I had given a four-and-a-half star rating. Given the fact that her singing abilities and quality of repertoire were equally good at her NMACC Grand Theatre show on Friday, what made me cut one point?

Ratings are personal choices, but in this case, it was a competition between grandeur and grace. One would ask why the comparison should be made at all, as those seeing her for the first time would be impressed by her sheer skills. But then, without this comparison, one wouldn't know what could be done better.

Titled Pratibha Ke Rang and organised by Sufiscore, Friday's show was lavish, featured a bigger band, had highly creative visuals, dhinchak lights and some marvellously choreographed dance sequences. But somewhere, one felt Pratibha was just going through the motions, rendering song after song mechanically, confused what to say between songs and cracking the same joke about feeling awkward a few times.

The Nehru Centre show, in contrast, was a simpler affair. Titled Jazbaat and organised by W&M and Vivikta, it offered more anecdotes, had a fair amount of humour and, probably a more appealing selection. Most important, the setting was more intimate, with the packed and knowledgeable audience singing along. The scale of Friday's show was larger, but with such a massive venue, there were quite a few empty seats, and the connect was relatively lower. There were exceptions, of course, most apparent when Shankar Mahadevan joined her on stage in a surprise rendition of the Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna hit 'Mitwa', or when she asked everyone to sing Jagjit Singh's 'Tum Ko Dekha'.

That's not to deny Pratibha's enormous talent and her ability to stick to the notes even after 150 minutes of performance, without showing the slightest strain. Her timbre and technique are admirable, and if she changed the tempo of a few songs to suit her style, or even modified her voice texture, she did it with precision. Aided by her good looks and striking stage presence, she's seen a meteoric rise over the past five years, even appearing at the Royal Albert Hall, London. She's worked hard, and taken the right decision of not going the Bollywood way.

On its own, the NMACC show had its highs, but it wasn't perfect. The set was a good balance of film classics, ghazals, Sufi songs, light classical pieces and prayer compositions. The evening began with a rendition of the Umrao Jaan classic 'Dil Cheez Kya Hai', and though she didn't specifically announce it, was an apt tribute to Asha Bhosle. Next came Lata Mangeshkar's 'Piya Tose' from Guide.

The Shakeel Badayuni-penned ghazal 'Mere Humnafas Mere Humnava' and Masroor Anwar's nazm 'Mujhe Tum Nazar Se' followed. They were well rendered, but in the former, she cut two shers and in the latter she combined two. While singers do such things to accommodate more songs in the set, it's better to keep known ghazals as they are.

Other highlights included a Jagjit Singh medley, a well-choreographed rendition of the Taal title song and the originals 'Muddaton Baad', beautifully written by Ajay Saaheb, and the Gulzar-penned 'Naina Boleܳ, the latter festuring composer Deepak Pandit on violin. In a technical goof-up, the mic went off at the beginning of the prayer song 'Algiri Nandini', and by the time it came on, the whole song seemed odd with an awry mix. On another piece, Pratibha's breathtaking sargams and taans featured an amazing dance by a young prodigy. Shockingly, the child's name wasn't announced - everyone clapped loudly but with a more appreciative audience, the kid would have received a standing ovation.

For a while, one thought there would be no interval. But an hour and 50 minutes into the show, a break was announced. Naturally things got extended. Though the second half had some wonderful moments like Shankar Mahadevan's cameo, the qawwali 'Saadgi Toh Hamaari Zara Dekhiye' and the Lagaan song 'O Paalan Haare', the ending seemed a bit rushed through. The modern version of the thumri 'Hamri Atariya' didn't impress, and 'Abhi Na Jaao Chhodkar' from Hum Dono was restricted to a few lines.

A word of praise for the band, coordinated by pianist Sangeet Haldipur and featuring bassist Sheldon D'Silva, drummer Darshan Doshi, tabla player Ashish Rangwani, guitarist Sanjoy Das, dholak maestro Navin Sharma, esraj exponent Arshad Khan, harmonium player Akhlak Hussain Varsi, keyboardist Firoz Khan and flautist Parth Shankar.  The dancers, performing Bharatnatyam and Kathak, were impressive too.

The background visuals could have been more subtle though. It's become a trend to use fancy stuff, but here things seemed to go overboard. Why would one want to see random images of peacocks, butterflies or Cupid shooting arrows just because some creative brain is on overdrive or wants to justify his hefty payment?

That brings us back to the grandeur vs grace question. A good balance between the two would be ideal. As a singer Pratibha did a great job, as always, but she didn't need all those unnecessary frills. And maybe a script like she had at her Nehru Centre show. She would definitely not seem awkward.