Republica met him at his residence in Kathmandu to talk about his favorite music picks. During the tête-à-tête, he also managed to dye his grey hair copper red, and he began, “There’s no other way to gain self-satisfaction than by indulging oneself completely in music.”
Sharma proclaims he’s passionate about acting but loves to sing and listen to music profoundly.
“Whenever I’m tired and frustrated, songs help me to come out of depression and give me strength to get back to work,” he says. His two personal favorite are Narayan Gopal and Karna Das. “No words can describe what a great singer Narayan Gopal is,” he adds. Sharma was and still is crazy about Narayan the “Swar Samrat”’s songs.
“Two decades ago, I used to drink a lot with my colleagues and friends. Almost everyone in my group was a fan of “Aja bholi harek saanjh mattina thalechha” by Narayan Gopal,” he chuckles as he explains that particular song [written by Bhim Udas] was made for them, or at least, that was what they thought, which provoked them to drink more and more each day.
As a kid, Sharma loved dancing to the tunes of Madhu Chhettri and his evergreen “Byroadko batoma dhulo udaudai”. Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane’s “Bakhari bakhari” and Kumar Basnet’s “Aamabhanda chhori taruni” were his instant classics. He fell in love with Narayan Gopal’s voice during his teens after listening to his two songs, “Timro jasto mutu meropani” and “Timilai ma ke bhanu, phul bhanu ki jun bhanu”, composed by the music maestro Gopal Yonjon.
“These were the songs that made me fall in love with my better half, Kiran,” he smiles. He reveals that during his young age, the best way to listen to their favorite numbers was by requesting the song to Radio Nepal’s music programs.“I used to post a lot of request letters to Radio Nepal to hear Narayan Gopal’s songs,” he adds and elaborates. “The other way was to borrow a copy of an album from a friend, who had to be from a well-off family to own a cassette player.”
Ashok is equally a diehard fan of Karna Das, who now resides in the United States of America. Sharma says that he admired the vocal projection of Das and deemed it “an outstanding voice that suits all kind of compositions.”
“I’ve listened to his debut, “Jindagiko ke bharosa”, more than 600 times. His “Thula thula mahal hoina” is another praiseworthy piece of work,” Ashok enunciates.
As the conversation concludes, Sharma peeps into the kitchen. Then he starts humming a Hindi movie song for his wife who is preparing his lunch. It goes like this:
“Jadoo teri nazar, khushbu tera bada, tu han kar ya na kar, tu hai meri Kiran.”
Reverse and play again!
avash@myrepublica.com
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