MUMBAI: 13 July saw some of Bollywood’s most respected and popular names come together in London for a unique Urdu poetry tribute to the iconic Bollywood film, Mughal-e-Azam and its director K Asif. The prestigious BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) venue in London hosted a night of music and tributes featuring writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar, award-winning actress Shabana Azmi, actor-singer Farhan Akhtar, and multi-faceted actor Irfan Khan. The evening saw Javed Akhtar recite poetry, the English translation of which was read by his wife Shabana, and son Farhan.

The evening, which was chaired by Baithak UK director Sangeeta Datta, finished with an impromptu collaborative jam between Farhan and London-based sarod maestro Soumik Datta. The duo performed several of Farhan’s own songs, and their music will be available on a soon-to-be-released album.

“It can be quite intimidating playing with a megastar like Farhan. And although I've known him for a few years now, this was the first time we played for a live audience and that too at BAFTA! But Farhan has a soul of a true musician – generous and collaborative. We found a great sound together and an aesthetic that I'm sure we’ll develop in the future,” says Soumik.

Soumik has earlier worked with Javed Akhtar on his 2015 album, Anant a compilation of songs penned by Indian cultural icon and poet Rabindranath Tagore that the Mumbai-based writer translated into Hindi, and brought to life through the voice of writer, filmmaker and singer Sangeeta Datta with music provided by the sarod musician and composer.