Bollywood Singers Jaan Nissar Lone and Rani Hazarika Win First KL Saigal Award

Mumbai Based Kashmiri Bollywood Music Director singer Jaan Nissar Lone and eminent Assamese Bollywood singer and musician Rani Hazarika were felicitated with the first Late Kundan Lal (KL) Saigal Award

Noted Mumbai Based Kashmiri Bollywood Music Director singer Jaan Nissar Lone and eminent Assamese Bollywood singer and musician Rani Hazarika were felicitated with the first Late Kundan Lal (KL) Saigal Award by former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Shushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday.

In a press release, Jammu & Kashmir International Film Festival (JAIKIFF) Director Mushtaque Ali Khan said that the award has been instituted by Pune-based NGO Sarhad, which also jointly organized the film festival with Arham Foundation. The award consists of a citation and a shield.

Anand Agarwal, Editor, Aaj ka Anand, social activist Sant Singh Mokha, Ashok Kaul, Film Director, film producer Nilesh Navalakha, Rajeev Jalnapurkar, CEO, Ramoji Film City, noted folk artist Sambhaji Bhagat, Sanjay Nahar, Founder-President, Sarhad, Dr Shailesh Pagaria were also present.

The festival committee has decided to confer this award on eminent persons from the field of films and music. The first award has been conferred on Bollywood singer couple Lone and Hazarika in the memory of the great actor.

Saigal was the first superstar and great singer of the Hindi cinema. His contribution to the Indian cinema was remarkable in the fave of adverse conditions. JAIKIFF was inaugurated by Apni Party chairman Syed Altaf Bukhari and former Union Minister MP Prakash Javadekar. ICCR President MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe was also among the dignitaries.

Jaan Nissar Lone is a guitarist, pianist and vocalist. Among the hit films, he has composed music include Half Widow, Pranaam, 18.11 J.D, and Shudra the Rising. Lone is rooted in the ethnic culture of Kashmir and loves to promote it. This is evident in the popular songs sung by him such as ‘Salam-e-Wazwan’ and ‘Maenziraat’, penned by Peer Zahoor. ‘Maenziraat’ is the first original dance number from the valley. ‘Salam-e -Wazwan’ is an ode to the cuisine ‘Kashmiri Wazwan’.

Lone has done his post-graduation from Trinity College, London in western music. He is trained in Indian classical music and belongs to the Patiala Gharana.

Rani Hazarika is born in a music-loving family from Assam. Her father Rose Hazarika was also a singer and was an artist with the Information Broadcasting Songs and Drama Division. Rani is a graduate from music. She has sung over 1,000 songs in various languages, including Kashmiri and Assamese. She sang a Punjabi folk song in Bobby Deol-starrer EK–The Power of One. She also sang for Nagarjuna-starrer Telugu movie Yeh Kaisa Karz (Boss). She was a finalist in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar (2010).

She has sung a song in Welcome Back composed by Meet Bros. Her song Dil Hi Toh Hai for the famous TV serial became an instant hit.