Recently Runa Laila was at kolkata to participate at "Kolkata Festival", which is fast becoming another "parban"(festive season ) for the people of kolkata.
As we all know that kolkata is all about a distinct mix of old and new, pride and nostalgia and so was Runa Laila.There was a time when she was big in Bollywood, she recorded with Kalyanji-Anandji, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, and with Bappi Lahiri for Man Ki Jeet in which she sang a duet with Rafi saab; she counts her title track in Ek Se Badkar Ek that was picturised on Helenji as a huge hit, her number Do Deewane Shaher Mein from Gharonda is still remembered, and she’s proud of the work she did on films like Agneepath and Sapno Ka Mandir. Then just when Bollywood was getting used to her voice, Runa disappeared. “I didn’t stop, the work stopped,” she admitted candidly. “The fact is that I wasn’t living in India, and the hassles that Bollywood producers and music composers had to go through to get me down to record one song, permissions from the government, sanctions from the RBI, was strong reason for them to use someone else from here,” she revealed. And Bollywood’s loss has been Pakistan’s and Bangladesh’s gains, because Runa is actively singing for films in those countries, and she’s even married to Bangla actor Alamgir.
She is looking forward to teasing the audience with Dama Dam... and Mera Babu... “Dama Dam... is a devotional song, it’s in Seraiki dialect, a mix of Sindhi and Punjabi, and kya kehte hai... Sufi and Qawalli singers have done it, In that respect and because of these two songs, even though she sings just about everything from pop to folk and ghazals to semi-classical, Runa Laila’s voice will remain evergreen. She has old fans and new everywhere. “The newcomers don’t recognise the face but know the voice,” she smiled.
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