Musical extravaganza Khumaar mesmerises M&E industry, once again

Khumaar, the annual musical extravaganza organised by Bipin R Pandit, saw yet another packed house this year. Khumaar 2020 was held in Mumbai on February 14. The Valentine’s special show was dedicated to romantic songs. 

Now a national brand, Khumaar had artists from Indore, Bhopal, Pune Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Present amongst the audience were industry luminaries such as Ramesh Narayan, Raj Nayak, Shashi Sinha, Kaushik Roy, Kalpana Rao, Partha Sinha, Bobby Pawar, Ajay Kakar, Rana Barua, Satyabrata, Debabrata Mukherjee, Ajay Chandwani, Mitrajit Bhattacharya, Megha Tata, Punitha Aurmugam, Pradeep Dwivedi, Dheeraj Sinha, and Sanjeev Kotnala, among many others. 

Speaking on the event, Bipin R Pandit said that though it was a challenge holding the show on Valentine’s Day, when people preferred to have their private parties, Khumaar was a superhit. He also announced that the 2021 edition of Khumaar will be held in Kolhapur. 

Industry Speak: Khumaar is an intoxication that is difficult to resist 

The industry heaped praises on Khumaar and the wonderful evening of music that it offered. 

Ajay Kakar, CMO, Aditya Birla Capital:

“Khumaar means “nasha” or intoxication. And Bipin Pandit’s Khumaar is an addictive nasha. A musical extravaganza that touches the heart and soul of a music lover; a lover of evergreen film songs of yesteryears. It brings forward undiscovered talent from across the country and inspires them to be their best. I really look forward to being in the audience, every year.” 

Mitrajit Bhattacharya, Co-Founder, The Corner Room Project:

“The show, having travelled to Baroda and Indore, was back in Mumbai this year. Having seen Khumaar grow in stature over the years, giving opportunities to so many talented new singers, I can only wish Bipin greater success ahead. Rafi saab will be smiling, I am sure.” 

Rana Barua, CEO, Havas Group:

“Khumaar will always be one of the finest experiences that is unique and totally fabulous. I have been attending it for many years and every year Bipin is raising the talent and quality to the next level.” 

Raj Nayak, Founder, House of Cheer:

“Bipin Pandit has been the fulcrum of The Advertising Club for the last 22 years. I have known him for almost 3 decades and even have the opportunity of working closely with him when I was serving as the President of the Ad Club. Bipin has been inviting me to Khumaar for many years, but as luck would have it, something or the other got in my way and I couldn’t make it. Finally, this year I went to Khumaar with my colleague Namrata Tata to the St. Andrews auditorium. I was totally mesmerised. The talent was exceptional and we got to listen to the best of songs from RD Burman to Lata Mangeshkar to Mohammed Rafi saab.” 

Namrata Tata, Managing Partner, House of Cheer:

“Valentine’s Day was my induction into Khumaar, and I couldn’t have asked for s better way to spend my evening. I was blown away by the tender melody and the freshness of the musical sound.” 

Dheeraj Sinha, Managing Director – India, Chief Strategy Officer – South Asia, Leo Burnett:

“Khumaar was a great experience. It brought back memories of so many songs that we had grown up with. It was a walk down the nostalgia lane. Also, the sheer quality of singers and talent on stage was awe inspiring. Bipin is doing a great job in connecting us to our musical roots.” 

Kaushik Roy, Past President, The Advertising Club, Mumbai:

“Khumaar is one of the most entertaining stage shows that I have attended. What is great about these shows is the choice of songs and ensemble of very talented singers who bring on the magic of evergreen hits of yesteryears. Not only is the singing quality superlative, these singers are specially selected for the uncanny similarities they have with the singing styles of the mega star singers of the past era.” 

Bharat Dabholkar:

“I never miss attending Khumaar. With a full live orchestra made up of well-known musicians from the industry and amazing singers, including some new talent, the show is peppered with shayaris that Bipin so effortlessly weaves in as the anchor.” 

Rajneesh Bahl, National Head, Laqshya Media Solutions:

“Khumaar is the best live orchestra that I have ever witnessed – from the selection of songs to the highest quality of musicians and shayari of Bipin Pandit that are seamlessly threaded.” 

Punitha Arumugam, Managing Committee Member, The Ad Club:

“Fantastic singers, evergreen songs, huge nostalgia, music divinity and 3 hours of pure bliss – that is Khumaar. Kudos to Bipin, who takes you on a musical journey with his storytelling, interesting nuggets and brilliant compering to create so many wow moments.”