After writing the anthem for the 37th National Games 2023, which that taken place in Goa on October 26, singer-composer Samarpit Golani hopes to write more theme songs for sports. Being narrated by megastar (actor) Amitabh Bachchan for the song that was performed during the event’s opening ceremony makes the 32-year-old feel extremely fortunate.
“Many people were in the fray, including some diggaj, but luckily we managed to survive. A sportsperson’s life is full of hardships, and after years of training and hardship, they are given the opportunity to succeed. It definitely clicked because it contained the essence of a sportsperson’s struggle since I could relate to them and had invested my soul in it” the composer says of his trip. Golani claims that the punchline served him well. “Lyricist Susheel Kumar developed the punch line Khel aisa khel, jaise kabhi bhi khela na ho, which I wrote. It was masterfully sung by singers Swaroop Khan and Nandini Sharma. We recorded the song with ninety-nine live musicians, and their combined energy certainly gave the anthem life,” he explains.
“He was already told about the song and when we met him in the evening at his residence Janak (in Mumbai), he had already recorded it,” he recalls about his encounter with Big B for the narration. After delivering the recording, he expressed his admiration for the song by saying, “Kui truti ho bataiyega, phir se kar lengey. It became clear to me why he was a megastar once we met !”
Golani, a native of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, began studying under his father, a musician. “I’ve been learning for 30 years, since I started at age 3. I’ve sung for movies and television shows, recorded more than a thousand bhajans, and even helped singer Maithili Thakur get her start. I have given background scores for the upcoming film Kaun Con Hai and have composed an album Temple of Arts which has songs by Hariharan, Rekha Bhardwaj, Javed Ali, Thakur, and others. I also have sung a song with Anandi Joshi,” he says.
