Exclusive! I’m grateful to him for giving me some of the best moments of my life: Amol Palekar pays tribute to Bhupinder Singh

A still from ‘Do Deewane Shahar Mein’

Veteran actor Amol Palekar who was the face of some of the late Bhupinder Singh's iconic songs, ‘Do Deewane Shahar Mein' and ‘Ek Akela is Sherher Mein' (Gharaonda, 1977) spoke to mid-day.com as he recalled their association.

Palekar said, "I first bumped into Bhupinder at the recording of ‘Do Deewane Shahar Mein' (Gharaonda, 1977) It was at Famous, Tardeo. It was a huge laboratory plus recording studio, as was the case in those days, many historical places were culturally vibrant, Famous was one of them. This was Bhim Sain ji's debut film Gharaonda. He invited me for the recording so I was there and I knew Jaidevji too. There was a lot of excitement in the studio because Runa Laila had come down from Bangladesh. It was her first song in India. They were rehearsing and I made a couple of suggestions, like some of the things are said in prose, since it would add to the playfulness of the song. Jaidevji liked those suggestions and Bhupinder was the first to respond saying ‘bahut achcha.' That's how our journey started. ‘Ek Akela is Shaher Mein' is an iconic song not just in my career but in the history of Indian cinema."

The actor adds that he had a reunion with Bhupinder two years ago, when he turned 75 and the singer gave him one of the best gifts he has ever received.

"When I turned 75, Sandhya (wife) had planned a beautiful evening which was a complete surprise to me. It was special in so many ways. All my associates right from school to my leading ladies and singers were present. This was a private party, no publicity. Yesudas came all the way from the US and Bhupinder wasn't well but he came and sang. Those were some of the most cherished moments of my life. Our association started with ‘Ek Akela is Shaher Mein' and my birthday was the last time we met. I'm grateful to him for giving me some of the best moments of my life."

Also Read: Exclusive! Anuradha Paudwal on Bhupinder Singh: My memories date back to when I was 12-years-old