India: Bollywood actor Boman Irani’s rendition of ‘Over The Rainbow’ has gone viral and is winning hearts on social media

Recently, Bollywood actor Boman Irani shared his rendition of the 1939 favourite, Over The Rainbow, originally sung by Judy Garland in the film, The Wizard Of Oz, and the internet loves it.

Sharing the video on YouTube, the 60-year-old actor wrote: “This one makes me smile, goose-bumpy, teary-eyed and hopeful all at the same time. Sung ole’ favourite Over the Rainbow with these superstars… It’s a classic that I have been singing since I was a kid. The reason I chose to create a version of this song is that it’s so full of hope.”

Irani was joined by a choir of music students in the video, and the video was shot remotely in each of their homes, keeping in mind safety during COVID-19. He wrote: “I have collaborated with kids on this song only because they are all about hope. They see a happy and colourful world around themselves. The kids are so artistic with the way they see things. When you talk about going over the rainbow, you can only think of children who can make it happen.

“They sang into their mobiles with so much joy, class, and consummate talent that I feel privileged to have shared this mix of technology and love with them,” added Irani, who will be seen next in Kabir Khan’s movie 83.

But, the highlight of the video was the artwork that was featured in it. Irani, who actively works with a Mumbai-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Akanksha Foundation, had reached out to its children and requested them to interpret the song in the form of artwork. He wrote: “When I heard these girls, I was bowled over by their talent. I wanted to sing with them. The kids from the NGO sent me pictures of their paintings that interpreted this song so beautifully.”

Irani wrote: “The darling kids of the Akanksha Foundation add to the colour and child-wisdom of how they see this world through their astounding art… please be assured that there will always be HOPE........in this hour and forever. Do visit the Akanksha Foundation and show your support.”

The Akanksha Foundation is an organisation that educates children from low-income communities across the Indian cities of Mumbai and Pune. It was founded in 1989 by a woman named Shaheen Mistri, who dropped out of Tufts University in the US and enrolled in St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai with one purpose, to educate underprivileged children in a low-income community in Cuffe Parade after college hours.

Two months later, she started the Akanksha Foundation and pioneered the idea of bringing together available resources - vacant classrooms of mainstream schools, colleges, and offices after work hours, the minds of children eager to learn, and the skills of college students who wanted to teach. The first Akanksha Center enrolled just fifteen children in a single centre and was staffed with college friends as volunteers.

According to their website, today, Akanksha is one of the largest urban networks of public-private partnership schools of its kind in India.

But, as education shifted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation saw children struggling to get online.

A few days back, Irani took to social media to ask his fans to support the foundation. With the hashtag MaskUpForEducation, he shared an online photo challenge asking people to share a photo with a book and donate money to help buy digital tablets for the older children studying in Akanksha schools, for those who could not afford to buy them.

The artwork by students of the foundation received many positive comments. And, reacting to Irani’s video, many netizens said they were unaware of his musical talent.

Facebook user Savitha Subramanyam Gautham commented: “Amazing voice! So soothing to listen to. Superb!”

And, Seema Padhi wrote: “Spellbound by the baritone rich deep voice of Boman Irani, and the talented singers are just amazing. Loved hearing it.”

Adding further details of the video, Boman Irani wrote: “Musically coordinated by Danesh Khambata and arranged by Nariman Khambata, Yash Thakkar and Rahul Pais. Sung by Anika Mashruwala, Kimaya Mehta, Vaidehi Srinivasan, Shloka Subramanian, Shriya Rao, Aneesha Karwanyun, and Boman Irani. Violinist Aaliya Ramakrishnan. Cellist Naima Ramakrishnan. Pianists Nisha Ramakrishnan. Edited by Ashwin Ajit and Rahul Gulabani, Supervised by Vijay Kumar Singh. Animation by Chintan Dangar.”