Mumbai, August 19 (IANS) Singer-composer Shekhar Ravjiani marked his father Hasmukh Ravjiani’s 75th birthday on August 18, with an emotional note which celebrated his life and spirit.
The singer acknowledged that the occasion came at a difficult time for the family following the recent death of his uncle.
Sharing a series of pictures featuring his father, including rare throwbacks from his younger days and clicks of him playing the accordion, Shekhar wrote, “Happy 75th Birthday, Dad. Age is just a number… and you are, and will always be, a rockstar. You continue to inspire me with your passion for music, love for your craft, and the way you live life with so much spirit,” he wrote.
Shekhar also revealed that his father’s birthday coincided with that of his uncle, whom the family lost only a few days ago.
“Today is also Chacha’s birthday. We lost him just a few days ago, and it has been an emotional time for all of us. As a family, we came together, prayed for him, shared memories, and even played his favourite card game, the one where, more often than not, nobody could beat him!” he wrote.
Addressing his father, Shekhar acknowledged the pain of losing a sibling while choosing to celebrate his milestone birthday.
“Dad, I know you are grieving the loss of your brother. I know that somewhere deep inside, there is a pain that words cannot really touch. But today is your landmark 75th birthday. And today, we choose to celebrate,” he wrote.
“We celebrate you. We celebrate Ajit Uncle. We celebrate the beautiful lives you have lived together, the memories you have created, and the love that will always remain,” he added.
Shekhar concluded the post by calling his father “an incredible human being, an inspiration, and my rockstar Dad.”
For the uninitiated, Shekhar has many a times spoken about how his father always encouraged his son’s musical training.
Shekhar began learning classical music at the age of eight and later learnt to play the accordion from his father. The family home also had a strong musical atmosphere, with legendary ghazal singer Jagjit Singh, who was reportedly a close family friend, often visiting for music sessions.
On the work front, Shekhar initially worked in advertising and composed jingles before entering the Hindi film industry. He participated in the singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 1997, and later eventually joined hands with Vishal Dadlani to form Vishal-Shekhar.
The duo making their film debut with Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi in 1999, and went on to become one of the prominent music-composing teams in Hindi cinema, working on films including Jhankaar Beats, Dus, Bluffmaster, Om Shanti Om, Bachna Ae Haseeno, Dostana, Chennai Express, Bang Bang!, Sultan, Tiger Zinda Hai, War and Pathaan, amongst many others.
Shekhar has also established himself as a playback singer, with songs such as “Tujhe Bhula Diya”, “Bin Tere”, “Meherbaan” and “Zehnaseeb” among his popular tracks.
–IANS
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