11 August,2010 07:45 AM IST | | Melissa Dcosta and Dhvani Solani
Usha Uthup first sang at Not Just Jazz 41 long years back, and right before the doors shut this week, she was back there to enthrall audiences on August 8. The pop star who loves her Kanjeevarams gets nostalgic in a chat
Excerpts from an interview:
A: My association goes back to 1969. Back then it was called Talk of the Town, and it lived up to its name in music and spirit.
Q: Do you recall your audience from back then?
A: You had people from all walks of life rubbing shoulders: music directors and composers like OP Nayyar. RD Burman, singer Asha Bhosle, actresses Tanuja and Sharmila Tagore to jazz musicians, and a lively crowd of Parsis who loved their jazz. The atmosphere was electric.
Q: Your favourite memory?
A: I was due to perform one night, and the place was packed. The queue to get in started at the door of the club and wound right down the street to K Rustom's ice cream parlour. When I tried to enter, the guard wouldn't let me in. Trying to convince him that I was Usha Uthup, was pointless. Everyone says that, he scoffed. NJJBB is the place that made me famous. It's hallowed ground for me.
Q: Your son's name is inspired by it. Is that true?
A: Yes. I was performing there, and back then, there were no PCOs or cellphones, so, I booked a call to my husband Jani from inside Talk of the Town. I couldn't get through, and when his call did come through I was busy singing the song, Sunny. We both had a laugh at that and decided to name our son Sunny after that incident.
Q: What will you miss now that it's shutting shop?
A: In all these years, two things that haven't changed there are the chandelier and Usha Uthup. I am looking forward to the revamp, though, and going back to perform.
