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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Jalgaon grandpa, 75, sets Karaoke singing world record

Jalgaon:  Age may be just a number, but for retired banker-cum-singer, Ramchandra D. Patil, his platinum jubilee year (75) has catapulted him into setting a world record.   The lifelong singing enthusiast from Jalgaon has officially entered the India Book of Records for the “Longest Live Singing on Karaoke Platform by a Septuagenarian,” performing continuously for 92 minutes in a program on September 25, 2025.   The achievement has thrilled the grandpa - who retired (2008) after 38 years’...

Jalgaon grandpa, 75, sets Karaoke singing world record

Jalgaon:  Age may be just a number, but for retired banker-cum-singer, Ramchandra D. Patil, his platinum jubilee year (75) has catapulted him into setting a world record.   The lifelong singing enthusiast from Jalgaon has officially entered the India Book of Records for the “Longest Live Singing on Karaoke Platform by a Septuagenarian,” performing continuously for 92 minutes in a program on September 25, 2025.   The achievement has thrilled the grandpa - who retired (2008) after 38 years’ service with the Peoples Cooperative Bank, Jalgaon - to set a target a higher and longer-lasting record.   “Music has been my passion since schooldays, specialising in songs of Mukesh as my voice closely resembles his. I have been singing for over six decades now… It's my life…” he smiled in a free-wheeling chat with  The Perfect Voice .   Despite lacking formal training in vocal music, Patil began performing at school annual gatherings and later joined local orchestras while studying at M.J. College in the 1960s.   Later, he nimbly balanced his main banking career and crooning, ensuring none suffered whether he worked in his staid office cabin or under the arc lights on the stage.   Patil became a coveted, popular and familiar name during Ganeshotsav, Navratri, weddings or special events, his fame took him all over Maharashtra and even Odisha, Madhya Pradesh to perform on live stage.   Over the years, the musical career bloomed, he earned a good side income plus a name in the entertainment world, though he admits that ‘creating a world record never crossed my mind’.   Meanwhile, in 1967, the first of the modest Karaoke machines was invented, it became sophisticated by 1971, and in the next couple of decades, became a global sensation.   In India, Karaoke (meaning, ‘empty orchestra’) started trending around 2015, proving both a boon and bane for live performers, vocal and instrumental, but Patil embraced it heartily.   “Karaoke allowed me to perform solo with the original background music. It afforded me the freedom to explore a wider range of songs and programs. Plus, practising and rehearsals became easier, especially for new numbers that I took up,” Patil explained.   At the same time, it has increased competition, with ordinary home-folk also belting out numbers backed by Karaoke, compelling singers like Patil to slash rates, but the market opportunities have vastly increased.   Unmatched joy While “the joy of performing live remains unmatched”, he said the brainwave of attempting a potential world record came almost by chance.   “In the past, I have sung continuously for over three hours many times, even at this age. We first checked out if anyone had attempted an official record in my age group, and found that there was none,” Patil recalled, of the Sep. 25 feat.   He humbly acknowledges that “the recognition is not merely a personal triumph, but a heartfelt tribute to all my musical idols”.   “Mukesh has always been my inspiration. But I also perform songs by Manna Dey and Mohammed Rafi, and lately, I’ve added a few Arijit Singh numbers too, which audiences love,” he said, hoping to expand his vocal horizon to more contemporary playback singers.   When asked about his favorite genre, Patil doesn’t hesitate: “The golden era of Bollywood music - the 1950s - will always be my favorite.”   Family backed the passionate singer Patil’s doting family, comprising his wife Nita, their son Girish, daughters Swati Patil, Jyoti Patil-Deshmukh and Geeta Patil-Bhaskar have stood firmly behind him and his singing passion.   “We’ve grown up listening to him. Our mother Nita supported him throughout. His passion for music runs in our family now,” they declared, as Girish reached out to India Book of Records and Guinness World Records for their stamp of approval.   While Guinness’ confirmation is awaited, the India Book of Records verified and awarded Patil’s feat, presenting him with a certificate, medal, and badge.   Even at 75, the senior singer’s enthusiasm shows no signs of fading and he is now planning for more performances and possibly another record attempt, to make himself immortal in the timeless world of music.

The friendship files

Updated: Mar 21

Love for gym and films brought Morea, Pancholi, Aaditya together

Morea, Pancholi, Aaditya

Mumbai: Otherwise poles apart, the trio – Aaditya Thackeray, Dino Morea and Sooraj Pancholi – have two things in common, passion for gym and cinema. This passion brought them together and created a strong bonding among them.


Aaditya has always enjoyed the company of film stars since many of them used to visit his grandfather the late Balasaheb Thackeray at their Bandra residence, Matoshree. Aaditya developed friendship with Morea during one of such meetings when he was a teenager. The friendship grew over the years irrespective of 20 years of gap in their age.


In 2016, when Morea opened an open-air gym in Marine Drive, Aaditya was the one who had inaugurated it along with actor Jacqueline Fernandez. Several pics of the duo posing together dating back to 2014 can also be found online. Aaditya is reportedly a regular visitor at Morea’s house in Bandra on almost each of his private celebrations.


Their friendship is in spotlight again since Satish Salian, the father of deceased Disha Salian, has named them as prime accused in her death case in a petition filed in the Bombay High Court on Wednesday. Salian has demanded that the trio should be probed for their role in his daughter’s “gang-rape and murder”.


The names of Morea, Pancholi and Aaditya began doing the rounds on various social media platforms right after Disha Salian’s death on June 8, 2020. In hush hush tones, their friendship became the talk of the town. People started adding two and two together. Salian used to work as an executive with a company which managed Rajput’s Public Relations. Salian and Rajput had a professional connection and Morea, Pancholi and Aaditya had a personal connection.


Salian has alleged that the trio has attended a ‘party’ at Disha’s Malad house where she died under mysterious circumstances. Salian believes that the trio are eye witnesses to what happened on that fateful night and there should be a thorough investigation into their role in covering up Disha’s “murder” as a “suicide”.


When asked about his friendship with Morea and Aaditya, Pancholi had told a TV news channel in 2020, “Dino is a friend of mine, whom I meet at the gym sometimes. It has been a long time since I have met him. Aaditya Thackeray sir, I have no connection with. I have never interacted with him.” Sooraj’s ex-girlfriend Jiah Khan had committed suicide in 2013,

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