Stunning emcee Sanghmitra wows audience at the Shammi concert
Kersi Meher-Homji interviews a star of the future
I enjoyed the Shammi Kapoor concert listening, clapping and toe-tapping to the nostalgic tunes Dil dekhe dekho, Tumsa nahi dekha, Ahesaan tera, Chahe koi mujhe jungle kahe among many others sung by Vinod Rajput, Reena Mehta, Deepa Gangoda and Jagdeep Singh.
Sponsored by The Indian Down Under and Monika Geetmala, the concert was further enlivened by the Gangoda boys’ orchestra.
To me the feature of the concert was the zany introductions and commentary by young attractive Sanghmitra Kumar, fluent both in Hindi and English. She made the concert buzz with excitement when old songs acquired a touch of yahoo-magic. It was a pleasure interviewing her after the concert.
Tell us about yourself, Sanghmitra.
“I was born in New Delhi and at the age of seven attended the National School of Drama Children’s workshop from where I started working as a child artiste and continued to balance school and acting projects till the age of 12 when I immigrated to Sydney with my family.
“In Sydney, I was involved with many community programs, such as radio-jokeying on Radio Darpan and Radio Lehrein. I also hosted a programme called Curry Culture on Channel 31, produced by Raj Natarajan. I was involved with my family’s event management company called India Exclusif inaugurated in 2003. Besides, I took part in many ramp modelling shows.
“I completed a two-year course in Drama and Performing arts as part of my HSC from Arthur Phillip High School, Parramatta and have also completed a course in International Modelling and Image Building from The Roots in New Delhi.”
Your profession? Do you also sing / dance?
“I am an actor by profession and a dancer by passion.”
I believe you are close to major acting roles in Bollywood movies.
“I worked as the main heroine in a movie called Bhavnao Ko Samjho which starred 51 comedians and made it to the Guinness World Book of Records for having the highest number of comedians on the same platform. As the film did not release properly due to production glitches, I shifted to production work for learning and networking purposes. I have worked as a Producer’s Assistant with Preity Zinta, Ameesha Patel and Vashu Bhagnani.
“Apart from the above, I have worked as a main lead in a TV series called Kashmakash Zindagi Ki on Door Darshan, Hadsaa on Zee TV and have worked in a number of music videos.”
Sanghmitra, you certainly won over the audience at the Shammi Yahoo show by your direct approach. You certainly have a rapport with the listeners. When did you start emceeing live shows?
“My first project as a child artiste was to host a children’s program for the National Council of Educational Research and Training who publish school text books in India. I had hosted around 50 episodes for the same.
“However, my first attempt at emceeing a live show was on the 8th of February last month at the Farhan Akhtar concert performed live at the Sydney Town Hall.”
How long did it take you to research on Shammi Kapoor? The way you asked many curly questions to the audience, it seemed a lot of work must have gone into it. Especially as Shammi’s best (yahoo) years as a flamboyant hero were before you were born.
“Working with the Indian film industry, it is important to know the industry as well as the people of the industry well. Hence, there was a lot of information I had beforehand. To compile everything took me a day.”
Do you get nervous before a concert? You certainly did not show it at that Yahoo afternoon!
“I am always nervous before going on stage or in front of the camera.”
Please share with the readers of The Indian Down Under your ambitions. You certainly have the looks, the charisma, the flair and the talent to succeed in a very challenging field, like acting in films in India?
“Thank you, Kersiji. I have not known anything except the field of performing arts. I breathe this passion and I understand that this is where my destiny lies.”
Your favourite actress and actor?
“Favourite and inspirational actress Madhubala and favourite actor Ranbir Kapoor. Inspirational actors: Shah Rukh Khan and Farhan Akhtar.”
Thank you, Sanghmitra. Sky is the limit when one has talent, charming personality and ambition. She has all three.
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