Mumbai– Celebrated playback singer Kunal Ganjawala took a nostalgic trip down memory lane on Sunday as he shared a rare and priceless photograph from the recording session of the timeless song ‘Ek Din Bik Jayega’ from Raj Kapoor’s classic film Dharam Karam (1975).
The black-and-white image features a gathering of some of the most legendary names in Hindi film music — Raj Kapoor, S.D. Burman, R.D. Burman, music arranger Manohari Singh, actor Randhir Kapoor, and singer Sushma Shrestha, also known as Poornima.
Kunal shared the picture on Instagram alongside a heartfelt tribute to Sushma Shrestha on her birthday, crediting her for being a guiding light in his early career.
“Happiest Birthday to my dearest Sushma Shreshta Didi – today and forever. Thank you for being God’s chosen fairy godmother to me,” he began in his emotional note.
Kunal recalled how Poornima selflessly mentored him, taking him to major film and ad studios across Mumbai in the early ’90s and introducing him to some of the biggest composers in the industry.
“You introduced me to Anand-Milind ji, Anu Malik, Aadesh Shrivastava, Ranjit Barot, Louis Banks, and Leslie Lewis, giving me an unbelievable opportunity during tough times by endorsing my voice and talent — even when my original voice quality was seen as a shortcoming back then.”
He reminisced about the learning experience of being in elite recording spaces like Film Centre, Bombay Lab, Mehboob Studios, Sunny Super Sound, Sahara Studios, and Western Outdoor — places he says were “dreamlike” for a young artist struggling to make his way in the industry.
“You gave me a place in your home when it was too late to return to mine, treating me like family. I’ll always be indebted to you, didi,” he wrote.
Kunal also highlighted that ‘Ek Din Bik Jayega’ was the first song he ever performed on stage, making the photograph even more meaningful to him personally.
The display picture in the post, he noted, is from that iconic session, and he lovingly tagged the greats featured: “S.D. Burman sahab, R.D. Burman, Manohari Singh, Raj Kapoor ji, Randhir Kapoor, and Sushma didi,” with a mention of Kaushik Baba, the chief engineer at Film Centre.
In a touching footnote, he added a trivia request for Sushma didi: “Legendary Mukesh ji is missing in this frame — didi, please fill us in on that story!”
Known for his soulful voice in hits like Bheege Honth Tere and Channa Ve, Kunal’s tribute is a beautiful blend of gratitude, nostalgia, and reverence for the legends who shaped the golden age of Indian film music. (Source: IANS)
