My Journey

Media have variously described Harish Bhimani as ‘The Most Recognizable Speaking Voice of India’, ‘The Most-travelled Indian Compere’, & ‘A Writer with a Zing’ – AKA the Samay of the Mahabharat, he is the country’s foremost voiceover artiste with over 27,500 recordings – and counting.

Marwar to Mandvi, Bhaati to Bhimani

Tracing his ancestry to the Bhaatis of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan whence, after recurring famines, the clan migrated to Kuchchh and were called Kuchchhi Bhatias – although I have never quite understood the strange preference for another perpetually parched region – from Marwar to Mandvi, where today Bhimani Tower stands tall.

Harish was born in Bombay – not just the city name that preceded Mumbai, but when it was Bombay Presidency. As Salman Rushdie (of Midnight’s Children) might have put it, ‘he is just a year and a half older than India – in a manner of speaking’. Fourth of five siblings, unlike a lot of kids his size, he was raring to go to school, dangling a black slate & chalk – probably, the then equivalent of an ipad & stylus! But twice his school admission was caught between his family travels and no one seemed to care – until he decided to barge into the neighborhood school while classes were in session – completely unaware that it was the 2nd Grade! After some sympathetic intervention by the Principal, the ‘admission matter’ was settled. Fortunately, in those days, schools wanted students more desperately than the other way round! It is surprising that he was a fairly good student in spite of totally missing the first two years.

Learnt early to be on the right side of the law!

In fact, schooling ended with a bang – a distinction at the first board exams. That eye-popping 70% marks took him to Elphinstone College.

LIT – My Engg College

Good numbers in those days led good boys to engineering. It was the rigors of the technology studies that distracted him to the radio, photography, stage & some forgettable writing. This is where, years later, he received ‘Jewel of LIT’ award.

Receiving LIT Ratna Award – 2018

But unable to choose a performing art genre as a career, he grabbed the unexpected admission tests’ outcome at a prestigious management school. It was godsend that campus placements had just begun, “A much sought-after MNC & I chose each other.

My mgt school – Bajaj Institute of Mgt Studies

With my two mentors Ameen Sayani & Ajit Sheth

At the crossroads - acting or voice acting! ~ 1974

I believed that the theatre (stage acting) was essential to an complete acting career. But my IPTA theatre work was ‘interfering’ with the surge of my voice recording assignments and other acting assignments were taking forever to launch. I had to make a hard choice. Hopefully, I made the right one.

Interviews

An interview is not just two people talking, it’s letting the world into a life lived on a path less travelled – goading, prodding someone to relive landmarks of his/her exciting life – unfolding a vision..

I am not sure what is more rewarding – interviewing or being interviewed!

Harish Bhimani Being Interviewed

At the AajTak Conclave

Reminiscing Lataji. Rajdeep Sardesai interviewing Harish & Sunil Gavaskar.

Music Incarnate

This is less of an interview, more of historic bytes. And then there are anchoring bits.

HB Interviewing

Interview with

EK SAFAR: An 8-part TV interview series with Lata Mangeshkar for ZeeTV

If there are ever un-rehearsed, spontaneous, unstructured interviews, these are it. These were produced by MusiCurry – a music company run by Adinath Mangeshkar.

Interview with

Film star Asha Parekh

If there are ever un-rehearsed, spontaneous, unstructured interviews, these are it. These were produced by MusiCurry – a music company run by Adinath Mangeshkar