Remo Fernandes leaves the stage larger than he found it

When A R Rahman’s ‘Humma humma’ in Mani Ratnam’s Bombay (1995) exploded onto radio and television over 30 years ago, it came with an irrepressible sense of joy, even though the film carried the weight of dark communal history. With swagger in its rhythm and an infectious energy in Remo Fernandes’ unmistakable Goan lilt, the track refused to be boxed into the neat boundaries of Hindi film music. It was gloriously raw, with Remo’s carefree ad-libs making it feel more freewheeling than a playback performance. On Tuesday, the 73-year-old performed the classic track, seated on a chair, one final time at Cranford Community College Grounds in London as part of Goa Day. As Remo bid farewell to the stage due to health reasons — a stroke, a fall and surgery that diminished his guitar and flute playing ability — it was a reminder of his timeless catalogue that brought joy to his listeners.

Born and raised in Goa, Luís Remo de Maria Bernardo Fernandes started with the mouth organ at four and was obsessed with his father’s eclectic record collection of brass bands, Western classical symphonies, bossa nova and samba. Konkani folk, Elvis Presley, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones would then shape his musical imagination. Remo taught himself the guitar and studied architecture at Sir JJ School while performing with bands in Mumbai. Part of the joyous abandon of ‘Humma humma’ came from the fact that Remo was an independent musician when being one was not fashionable. He released Pack That Smack (1986), followed by Bombay City and was once the country’s highest-selling English rock musician.

While film songs gave him great popularity, generations of musicians still talk of Remo as one of India’s pioneering rock musicians. He leaves the stage larger than he found it, one that now offers more room for independent sounds.