Nandu Bhende

A pioneering rock musician, singer and theatre artist, Nandu Bhende is remembered for the role he played in popularising rock and disco music in India. Performing in several rock operas and musicals onstage, he transitioned to cinema with the popular Krishna dharti pe aaja tu from Disco Dancer (1982).

Born to actor-director Atmaram Bhende and Dr Asha Bhende, he was involved in the music scene from a young age. He sang for bands like Savage Encounter, Velvette Fogg, The Brief Encounter and Nandu Bhende Rock Revue. He caught attention with his performance as Judas in Alyque Padamsee's staging of Jesus Christ Superstar. Roles in P L Deshpande's Teen Paischacha Tamasha and the first Indian original rock opera Jaya followed. These roles earned him great critical acclaim and led to him producing his own stage shows. 

The popularity of the disco song Krishna dharti pe aaja tu allowed him to record several successful disco albums with companies like Music India, HMV and Tips. Some of these are Disco Duniya, Disco Nasha, Disco Zamana and Disco Mazaa. The celebrated poet Nissim Ezekiel, who was his maternal uncle, wrote a special collection of songs for his album Get Organized for HMV. Other songs in films include I and you just you and I from Unchi Uran (1984), Zakhm laga hai from Zakham (1989) and Chumble chin chumble chin from Chamatkar (1992). He also worked extensively as a composer fro television. 

The celebrated rock singer passed away on 11 April, 2014.