Sona Mohapatra to perform at London tribute to RD Burman

Sona Mahapatra, the singer of such hits as Ambarsariya and Jiya Laage Na, has been invited to perform in London at an event celebrating RD Burman’s 75th birth anniversary, which is being organized by the BBC Asian Network. Sona said, “I am really happy to have been invited to perform with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. The scale of this event is inspiring and performing with a 100-piece orchestra in London is a worthy tribute to RD Burman on his 75th birth year.I got the invitation to perform via social media. A producer from the network who follows me on social media invited me. This just proves how the whole system has changed, where the middleman is almost eliminated, thanks to direct access to artistes and bands on the internet.”
She is busy preparing for her performance and admits that she has an old attachment to Panchamda’s music. She said, “This event is extremely special for me. Panchamda’s music was our window to world music and continues to inspire us to this day. I want to interpret the songs in my style because the original singers are legends. I would prefer to avoid comparisons with them and use this as a chance to reinterpret the melodies with a fresh perspective.”