All these years we have been trying to get in touch with a member of Geeta ji’s family. Finally through social networking website Facebook we were able to connect with Shri Milan Roy ji, younger brother of Geeta ji. We are highly grateful to Shantu ji, Milan ji’s wife for connecting us with him.
Milan ji lives in the state of Arkansas, USA since 1961. Since it was not possible to meet with him in person, Parag Sankla from our team used video conferencing technique to speak with him. The interview has been recorded with permission from Milan ji and is being shared here.
Here are some of the questions we asked Milan ji.
1) Please tell us about your childhood or early memories of Geeta ji
2) Please tell us about the Roy family and the affection between the siblings. Please tell us more about the family group photo
Sitting from L to R: Debendranath Roy (Father), Geeta Roy, Amiya Roy (Mother)
Standing from L to R: Roma Dutta Roy (cousin) , Mukul Roy (brother), Pabitra Roy (brother) and Milan Roy (brother)
3) We have read that Geeta ji helped you to go abroad (USA) for studies. Please tell us more about it
4) How were your initial years in the USA? How often did you get a chance to meet her during your stay in the USA. Please tell us more about the photo with you and Geeta ji together
5) Please tell us about Mukulda who composed such wonderful songs for Geeta ji
6) We have read that Geeta ji was a very jovial and kind-hearted person. Please tell us more about this aspect of her nature
7) What are some of her songs which you personally like
8) While you were in India did you get a chance to attend some recordings or rehearsals with her. Please tell us more about it
9) When you go down the memory lane what your feelings about all the wonderful memories of your Ranga di you cherish.
10) We launched the website dedicated to Geeta ji in the year 2008. This was a little tribute to the immense talent from her fans. Please share your thoughts about it
Milan ji’s responses were straight from the heart, just like Geeta ji’s singing. He talked about so many wonderful memories during this 50 minute interview. It was truly a trip down memory lane.
We hope you will enjoy seeing to this interview as much as we enjoyed speaking with him.
During the interview, Milan ji mentioned that he played a small role in the film Jaal (1952) starring Dev Anand and Geeta Bali, directed by Guru Dutt. This is the link for the small role Milan ji played in Jaal (1952) ?t=2m50s
We spoke about a particular color photograph of Geeta ji with Mohd Rafi sahab. It was taken when they were visiting London for a musical concert. The same is being shared here:
During the interview, Milan ji mentioned that he had gone to Madras (now Chennai) for the recording of this song sung by Geeta ji and Manna da. The song is Humne sapne dekh liye from the film Sitamgar (1958). It is a dubbed film from a south Indian film. It had music by G Ramanathan and B N Bali.
