Pascal of Bollywood
{{short description|French actor and singer (born 1963)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Pascal of Bollywood
| image = PASCAL OF BOLLYWOOD.jpg
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| caption = Pascal of Bollywood at Tharangambadi- Tamil Nadu, India
| birth_name = Pascal Heni
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| birth_date = 1963
| birth_place = Batignolles, Paris, France
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| genre = Bollywood music
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| years_active = 1990–present
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Pascal of Bollywood (born Pascal Heni; 1963) is a French actor and singer who gained fame in India as the first Westerner to reinterpret the songs of Indian cinema in Hindi, Tamil and Bengali.{{cite news|title=Asian Culture Is Celebrated|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aAOhct75dVe8&refer=culture|accessdate=19 September 2012|newspaper=Bloomberg|date=9 August 2006|author=Iain Millar}} He is best known for his Hindi and French cover of Edith Piaf's "La Vie en rose".
Biography
Pascal Heni was born in Paris in 1963 into a family of pied-noirs.{{cite news|title=Pascal of Bollywood|url=http://www.rfimusique.com/musiquefr/articles/060/article_15244.asp|accessdate=19 September 2012|newspaper=RFI|date=11 November 2004|language=French}} His artistic career began at the age of 15 years with courses in drama and theater. While traveling in Malaysia in 1987 he heard the Hindi song "Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana" from the film Andaz and became fascinated with Bollywood music. Upon his return to France he began studying Indian languages and emulating the style of Kishore Kumar, his favorite singer.{{cite news|last=Torcato|first=Ronita|title=A Frenchman in Bollywood|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/A-Frenchman-in-Bollywood/articleshow/1117932.cms|accessdate=19 September 2012|newspaper=Times of India|date=22 May 2005}}
In 2001, he went to India where he sang the popular Indian standard repertoire of the 1950s through the 1970s and embarked on an India-wide concert tour. He recorded his first album with a large Bollywood orchestra in Bombay. Indian composer Pyarelal Sharma of the Laxmikant Pyarelal duo, served as the musical director for the resulting album, Pascal of Bollywood. It was released by Naïve Records in France in October 2004 and was followed by numerous concerts around the world.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
The "Frenchman", as The Times of India nicknamed him, returned to Europe on tour to introduce Bollywood music to the West. He has contributed greatly to the growth of Bollywood in France and Europe.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
In 2009, Pascal Heni released a French-language album entitled Retour au nom de jeune homme. The music was composed by himself and arranged by three young Indian musicians, Dominique Blanc-Francard and Pyarelal.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
Personal life
Heni has been in a relationship with French botanist Patrick Blanc since 1985.{{cite news|last=Hohenadel|first=Kristin|title=All His Rooms Are Living Rooms|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/garden/03blanc.html?_r=1|newspaper=New York Times|date=3 May 2007}}{{cite news|last=Quinn|first=Karl|title=Blanc Canvas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/garden/03blanc.html?_r=1|newspaper=The Age|date=18 July 2008}}
Discography
=Albums=
- 1990 N'êtes pas très bavard ce soir
- 1993 La vie c'est mouvant
- 1997 Casino des Trépassés
- 1998 Paradiso, canto XXXIII
- 2000 Hôtel de Bondeville
- 2002 Concerts Evolutifs
- 2003 Zindagi ek safar hai suhana
- 2004 Pascal of Bollywood
- 2005 Les Amours Jaunes
- 2007 Folies Musicales
- 2009 Retour au nom de jeune homme
- 2010 Pascal of Massilia
- 2011 Purgatorio, canto XVII
- 2011 An Evening in Paris Remix
=Compilation albums=
- 2004 Indomania by Béatrice Ardisson (France)
- 2005 The Best Of by Claude Challe (France)
- 2005 High Society, Amor (Italy)
- 2006 City Hippy by Pathaan (England)
- 2007 Francophonic GM record (Poland)
- 2007 Musique fantastique by DJ Guuzbourg (Netherlands)
- 2007 Pieprz i Wanilia by Stanisław Trzciński (Poland)
- 2008 Various Kampengrooves 2 (Germany)
- 2008 Cafe Latino Vol. 6 a Special Night Lounge
- 2009 Love from Jaipur by Béatrice Ardisson (France)
- 2011 Original Chill Lounge Session
- 2013 Montecarlo Nights New Classics Vol.6 (Italy)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20180816221743/http://www.pascalofbollywood.com/ Official website]
- [http://www.myspace.com/pascalheniofficial Myspace Pascal Héni official]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascal of Bollywood}}
Category:Hindi-language singers
Category:Bengali-language singers
Category:Tamil-language singers
Category:French expatriates in India
Category:French expatriate actors