Kishori Amonkar was once considered the enfant terrible of Hindustani classical music, but is hailed as a genius for her supremely melodious voice. She recently paid rich tribute to master filmmaker Vijay Anand, in the Mumbai publication, Mid Day. This is her letter:
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"I was deeply shocked by the demise of Vijay Anand. Barely two months ago I had the wonderful experience of shooting with him for the documentary series, Portrait Of An Artist. He was so warm, persuasive and quick that I was really looking forward to the rest of the film. The film will, no doubt, be completed. But it would've been a great experience to work with this legendary director, a taste of which I had when I shot with him [on] December 14, 2003.
"The first shot was a complicated trolley shot, starting with a Ganesha, involving precision movements of the bow of the violin and harmonium, with close ups of me, Tabala and a beautiful statue of the goddess Saraswati, set to a particular rhythm. The shot, not only beautiful and meaningful, was OK on the first take. We didn't know at the time that this was to be Vijay 'Goldie' Anand's last take.
"We should all rededicate ourselves to the creative passion of this immortal director."
