Mohan Bhagwat to kick off Sudhir Phadke tribute

Ram Naik and (left) Sudhir Phadke. Pic/PTI

PAN India centenary celebrations for legendary music composer and singer Sudhir Phadke, who has more than 111 Marathi and Hindi films to his credit, are set to take off on July 25 with an event at Ravindra Natya Mandir in Prabhadevi. The celebrations will see Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat in attendance and Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik, too, is slated to attend. Phadke was apparently associated with the RSS for 60 years.

Celebrations will go on for a year, with events to be held through 12 months for 'Babuji', as Phadke was popularly known. They will culminate on July 24, 2019. Organiser Prasad Mahadkar said, "Nagaland Governor Padmanabh Acharya will be part of the attendees at the Mumbai function besides, of course, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and School Education and Cultural Affairs minister Vinod Tawde." Mahadkar said that Phadke was associated with some of these attendees when he played a seminal part in the Goa Freedom Movement.

A glitzy panel of Marathi celebrities like singers Suresh Wadkar and Shiv Shahir Babasaheb Purandare has been invited, with Purandare going to add a personal touch with his memories about the composer.

Phadke flyover
Phadke has a flyover in Borivli - Sudhir Phadke Setu - named after him. "A lot of people using that flyover may not know much about my father," said Shridhar, Phadke's son. Shridhar though is looking forward to people getting at least some little-known glimpses through events at the centenary year celebrations.

Mahadkar said Phadke's 'Geet Ramayan', penned by stalwart poet Ga Di Madgulkar, was hugely popular on All India Radio in the 1950s. "Some of the best seats in the house, then, will be reserved for music lovers," laughed Mahadkar.

Sridhar recalled how his father, "Was kind but a strict disciplinarian at home. He was determined that I finish my education, an opportunity that was denied to him because of financial circumstances. My father was a school dropout and started working and singing when very young. He had to abort his earlier dream of becoming an engineer," said Shridhar, who has a Masters in Electronics.

Free Goa
Phadke also played a seminal role in Goa's freedom movement from Portugal, (Goa attained independence from Portugal in 1961). Shridhar said, "The role he played in this freedom movement is a lesser known aspect of his life. He was not Goan, in fact, born in Kolhapur, but as a proud Indian he put his weight behind the freedom from Portugal movement in Goa. My father along with other revolutionaries was part of a grand coalition called the United Front of Liberation," said Shridhar, recalling how his father would tell him stories about freeing Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese rule.

Sridhar said, "During Goa's freedom struggle fighters like Mohan Ranade and Telo de Mascarenhas were caught in India and incarcerated in Portugal. My father was part of the Free Mohan Ranade Committee. Ranade was freed in 1969, years after the liberation of Goa, and Mascarenhas after that," said Shridhar, describing his father as, "once a revolutionary, but always a desh bhakt."

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