'Bhupiji was a sweet, lovable person'

IMAGE: Bhupinder Singh with Talat Aziz<./div>

Talat Aziz and Bhupinder Singh were contemporaries.

They had a lot in common, including a penchant for creating music beyond Hindi cinema.

They were also favourites of composer Khayyam and would often jam together for extended music sessions.

In fact, one of Bhupinder's last outings before he fell ill was a musical evening with his friend 'Latu', his pet name for Talat Aziz.

IMAGE: An artist pays tribute to Bhupinder Singh in Mumbai. Photograph: Sahil Salvi

"Bhupiji was a sweet, lovable person," Talat Aziz tells Subhash K Jha.

"He was a warm-hearted soul. A great musician, he had a unique voice. He shared a warm relationship with me. I met him in 1976, when he was introduced to me by Jaidevji, the music director."

For the great Jaidev, Bhupinder sang many memorable melodies.

"I used to meet Bhupiji at Gaylord's restaurant in Churchgate (south Mumbai)," Talat Aziz adds.

"We shared this relationship till the end. I met him last in 2021, just before the Omicron (wave). I had gone to present him a lifetime achievement award on behalf of Mirchi and then had a nice evening session with him."