Sign up
Sunita Williams
Astronaut Sunita Williams, who is currently on a space mission, will be celebrating turning 59 on 19 September.
Saregama India has united Bollywood stars like Karan Johar, Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Jeetendra, Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan, Anup Jalota, Salim Merchant, Neeti Mohan, Ila Arun, Vijay Prakash and more to wish her through a birthday song.
Conceptualised by The Womb, Saregama chose the song 'Baar Baar Din Yeh Aaye' from the movie Farz. The lead female character's name in the film was Sunita and the song had the line Happy Birthday Sunita.
The initiative also aims to get school children from 700 schools across India to join it.
Vikram Mehra, managing director, Saregama India, said, “In India, 'Baar baar din yeh aaye' is the default birthday song. We've all sung it for over the last 50 years. But today 1.5 billion Indians are singing it for our Sunita Williams. Through the power of music, we wanted to show her our appreciation and share the love from India. By bringing together Bollywood icons, artists, and students, we wanted to give her a memorable birthday because each one of us wants Sunita to come back soon and come back safe.”
Navin Talreja, co-founder, The Womb, added, "Sometimes it's about joining the right dots. We had an idea, Saregama had the song and everyone voluntarily joined the celebration. It shows our love and compassion for someone brave, someone who inspires us. The idea is a coming together of context, content and simple yet unignorable creativity. It's humane. It's motivating. It's the least we Indians can do to wish her a long life...tum jiyo hazaro saal. We are trying to make sure our voice is heard From Earth to Space."
