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I had mischievously put forward a trivia question: First ever Hinglish Film song?, to the PFC authors. I did not know the answer, but I was confident that the Trimurti: PavanSaab, RKSaab & SubratSaab would know the answer, or Google will have the answer. I had a backup as well; I would have bluffed Kishore Kumar’s song “Oonche Sur Mein Gaye Ja” as the first ever Hinglish Film song, if nobody knew.

Now what are the chance of me bluffing to the Trimurti and getting it away? Zero.

I did not had to bluff or google because Subrat came up with a gem of Hinglish song “Meri Jaan Meri Jaan Sunday ke Sunday” from film “Shehnai”, which was released in year 1947! So that song beat the song I thought was the first ever Hinglish song by whopping eight …

iView Author:
Sourav Bhuyan
Mumbai, India

EMAIL:
souravbhuyan[at]gmail[dot]com

My Petty Effort….

Iron Maiden is coming to India for the second time and playing live at the MMRDA grounds on the 1st of February.A red letter day for Bombay metalheads.

A year back I came across a documentary called “Metal:A Headbanger’s Journey”.This documentary had taken into account the origin of this particular genre of music called Heavy Metal and stretched over lot of other issues related to it.The documentary was interspersed with interviews of metalheads all over the world and also exclusive interviews.Well documented movie I must say. Sam Dunn,the Writer and the Director of the movie is making another documentary called “Global Metal”.It takes into account the reach of this genre of music in the world.Be it Iran,Brazil,India or Malaysia.

Last year in March, Iron Maiden arrived in Bangalore and blew the city into pieces. Sam …

iView Author:
ANAND KADAM
Bristol, UK

EMAIL:
anandk9 [at] yahoo [dot] com

It’s only words ….

Lyrics are the soul of any song..take them away the song is dead.
There are few songs which i constantly hear, even if i dont understand the meaning
completely or for that matter i have some different interpretation of the words ..these songs make
me nostalgic..make me smile.. make my eyes moist ….

1 ) Mera kuch samaan (Izaazat)

Gulzaar saab at its best.You can’t find better words then this to describe the feeling of a lonely
heart craving for someone’s love.To sing such a difficult song where in more of the words don’t
rhyme,you needed someone to translate the words into voice and Ashaji does complete justice
to Gulzaar saab’s lyrics.Someone asked me why is the word “samaan” used and should they have
…

It was 1992 when I first heard Gham ka Khazana on Jagjit Singh’s Sajda album, a tape that would play infinitely during my father’s shaam-e-ghazals with his ghazal-loving friends. I was only 13 then, but my father, a brilliant ghazal singer in his own right, had established ours as a musical household from my very early years, and I have only him to thank for having a voice as powerful enough in my vicinity to draw me to his late evening harmonium sessions. When Sajda was going strong on the household cassette player, I remember walking around the house humming the tune to Gham ka… in my head as I worked on random chores, and wouldn’t notice how I got them done. Jagjit Singh’s voice had had its first effect on me, and I hadn’t realized. I had probably heard his voice even before, but for …

A creative aspect in film making that is generally overlooked suddenly jumped to limelight courtesy Aaja Nachle..In the title song of the movie a line ‘Mochi bhi samjhe apne ko sunaar re’(A shoemaker thinks of himself as goldsmith) inadvertently created a furore that led to politics of casteism marring the box office fortunes of the movie in Hindi heartland..Suddenly everyone was discussing what are the connotations of such a line, what could be its implications and whose line and lyrics is it anyway?

And lyrics writers suddenly found themselves basking under their fifteen minutes of fame..Otherwise who cares for the lyrics writers per se in present times !

There was a time when lyrics writers commanded a presence in film making process..Those were the days when giants like Sahir Ludhianvi, Kaifi Azmi, Majhrooh Sultanpuri lent their signature to the film’s story through their soul-stirring, meaningful songs..It was poetry getting wings …

Responsible for Divyashakti, an adequately downbeat tale of revenge driven by principles and loss bolstered by an interesting villain, Tau (pronounced: taauu), played by Amrish Puri and two films with Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan (Main Khiladi Tu Anari, a rip-off of The Hard Way and Keemat), Sameer Malkan was last heard of when he finished a songless thriller shot in New York City and Philadelphia called Lips: The Kiss Of Death starring Anuj “KKusum” Saxena and Maushmi Udeshi. Despite getting the skin bits excised and getting slapped with an A certificate, the film reportedly still hasn’t made it to the marquee (or did it just quietly get out on DVD?). The film’s about the development and consequences of the crush an illegal Indian in the US has on the enigmatic young sexy wife of a middle-aged millionaire….

[Update : Sept 27/2007. Stills of songs added]

Do songs hurt the narrative flow (and form) of our films? I believe they usually do. When we were working on about the fifth draft of the screenplay (it went on till ninth by the time it was ready to be called ‘bound’), I realized that there are some ‘natural’ places where songs can have a place in the film, mostly as background thematic scores not sung out by the protagonists. To not hurt the narration, I knew the key would be the wording of lyrics befitting the narrative situation and the feel… (how they are bound together with music would be secondary – composers usually work the other way round, they have the music in place to which lyricists write the words). …

On 07/07/2007 in Lisbon a new list of seven wonders of the world is going to be announced and our Taj Mahal is in the reckoning.The race is hotting up what with presence of Bipasha Basu amongst the hosts to announce the results! Suddenly everyone is having a rendevous with Taj–a bond, a relationship perhaps.

Its the same Taj that had been in news for all the wrong reasons in the recent past. …

“Will this survive the Kingfisher litmus test?” asked Oz as we inebriated ourselves while hogging on some butter chicken at Ambala Dhaba. I was hesitant to respond because Vijay Mallya’s concoction has a tendency to strip your tolerance levels considerably. The last film we saw under the influence (Nishabd) had us running to save our tender brains from deterioration within 30 minutes. Fortunately, and finally, this time the hops have met their match!

Mallya ain’t got nothin’ on Anurag…Anurag Basu that is! “Anurag who?” you say? The Anurag previously known for xeroxing firang flicks for the ever so original Bhatts (Murder, Saaya). The Anurag who hinted at his ability to pack a punch with Gangster. If only he hadn’t succumbed to the producer’s safety net! But beware, for this time, there are no ifs, and no Bhatts, as the writer/director nails the bull’s eye with a film that is refreshingly …

I want to dissect inspiration today. It’s been on my mind for a while. It’s the only truth that can help us do justice to whatever work we do in life. We start to change the world when we start to change ourselves. Who are we but Gods and kings?Inspiration is the only guide in this world that can show us a path that makes us alive.Inspiration is like undying faith.Inspiration allows us to live this truth with dignity.
I was going through Kartik’s article on the FTII conference and I came across something by a man I have great regard for… There are no collective dreams in films these days, there is no ‘WE’ there is only ‘I’. The army is still waiting for the king!!!!” We’re hiding behind underworld for stories since underworld has its sense of morality very clear. We’ve to find ‘We’ …

The problem with reality is there is no music happening in the background, which is why music like this really appeals to a musically starved soul like me who looks forward to good Hindi film music. Soothens me big time. :)
I can never get over the music of Omkara..How on earth did this man have the ability to make this film and on top of that make such fantastic music? I can’t even decide which my favorite track is because there is a song which does justice to every mood in this album. It is awesome music. I think Vishal Bhardwaj is the most underrated Music composer in the industry.

OMKARA - The title track will make all real men stand up and feel good about themselves. All the others will want to be real men. The base and the snares and the feel of the …

A.r Rehman is my favourite music director from the Indian film industry before Himesh Resham wali aawaz..

I heard his Pray for me brother and i was confused.
Pray for me bro is dedicated to inspire ppl to eradicate poverty and to give hope from oppression,injustice and cruelity due to foreign forces or their own cruel leaders,those deprived of love,to fill a void,and to those tht are searching to be kind ..blah blah..

I am sorry but i am not convinced that this song can carry such a huge load..

Bhai log aur behno dekho when i hear a song which is for the poor and for the cold , i want it to inspire me enough to atleast borrow a car once with a good system , play the song , go and buy bread buns and blankets from Hauz Rani market and go crying to Sai baba mandir to give it …

If you love music and especially hindi film and non filmi music and you don’t have music album, I Write I recite , then your collection, somewhere lacks something.

The Tragedy Queen, Meena Kumari , who was said to have owned the melancholy and extreme sadness, lonliness and pain in real life, was a poet also. In a way from her maternal side she belonged to clan of Great poet and Nobel Laureate Ravindra Nath Tagore.

Much has been written and discussed about her films but the poet residing inside her has got less attention. She and her sadness became mythological but her poetry truly reveals her creative side. So what if they are extreme expression of sadness. Her poetry has much substance.

She did “Mere Apne” with Gulzar in her last years and “Meena Didi” gave her diary, where she used to write her emotions in the form of poetry, to …

AR Rahman finally releases a music video, something that was long awaited. This song, which was actually released as a single through a mobile phone company, was composed two years ago. Bharatbala, of Maa Tujhe Salaam fame, directs this video with an international crew. This is a fine example of how quality video-making can elevate a song from the stature of great to memorable. The video has started doing rounds of the music channels, and the music should be out too very soon.

Here is a little dekko at the video:

A Western vertical frame opens up this slick video in a street smart genre, with rappers and rockers doing what they are good at, with spliced in images of compassionate faces and people all around. The good part is that apart from all of the stereotypes, the song scores, because it has that Rahman feel to it …

It has been a while since we have had OST’s being released for songless Indian films.
The examples have been Black Friday, Sarkar, White noise, Bhoot, Black and more. The masters of the game are Indian Ocean, Salim-Sulaiman, Ashutosh & Dhruv, Midival Punditz, Amar Mohile, Nitin Raikwar, Monty, Sandeep Chowta etc. since Indian films have THE SONG has an indispensable element, OST’s featuring extensive background music pieces from the films, or inspired songs, become a shaky boat to ride on.

Sarkar had a brilliantly worked on 2 CD OST track, which by far has been one of the most definitive sounds or efforts in this domain. Indian Ocean’s Black Friday did it 2 years ago with original sounds, which build up the singularly arresting sound of a blast-infested Mumbai. White Noise, Snip and Bombay Boys were the showcase of Ashutosh Phatak & Dhruv Ganekar’s electronica and semi-classical fusion …

A beautiful , young woman, who thinks she is intelligent and has aristocratic hobbies lives with her ailing father in a big, palace like house in a small hill station kind of city in India. She is in to reading, music, painting and other kinds of arts. Her father gets heart attack and a local doctor comes to see him. Simple and humble doctor continues his visits and soon Maya- the young woman feels attraction towards the Doctor and she marries him. She is migrated to his small house where his quite conservative mother also lives and naturally Maya can not set up a good equation with her. Mother goes away.

Time passes and Doctor is living his life as a normal doctor busy in his profession. He thinks he has a good career and a beautiful wife at home. He is a satisfied man but Maya, she feels her wings are chopped …

Nida Fazli the famous Urdu Poet wrote once –
 

Tum bhee likhna Tumne us shab kitanee baar piya paanee
Tumne bhee to dekha hoga Chajaje upar pura chand.
 

 A loose translation –
  (You also write to me how many times you drank water that evening
   You also might have seen full moon from your balcony)
 

If you like this poetry and understand the romance in it then you can enjoy Vivah also. Vivah has several romantic moments which can happen between lovers of 18-24 years age.
In one such scene Amirta Rao says to Shahid kapoor,” Jab Tum barat lekar aaoge to hamare mohalle mein sab gharon mein chulhe par rotiya jal jayengee”
Shahid asks why? And she says” kyonki ladkiyan dulhe ko dekhne chaton par jo aa jayengee”.

If you enjoy the episode in Ram Charit Manas where Sita sees Rama first time in a garden then you can enjoy this film- Vivah. 

Its not an intellectual film …

Here’s an event for PFC-ites in Mumbai… a few months back I had given an introduction to Baiscope Entertainment, an NGO designed to benefit fledgling filmmakers and others interested in film and the industry. Now they’re back with an event in Juhu and the director of the upcoming Salaam-e-Ishq will be in attendance. Highly recommend those of you in Mumbai to check it out if possible and give a write-up on what transpires.

BAISCOPE ENTERTAINMENT

Presents

In Association with

PVR CINEMAS and IndieFocus

A workshop with Nikhil Advani

(Director - Kal Ho Na Ho, Salaam-e-Ishq)

“From the Other Side of the Fence”

The workshop will explore:
Salaam-e-Ishq: The making of the mother of all multi-starrers
Bridging the 2 worlds: Nikhil Advani’s journey from the realistic world of Sudhir Mishra to the kandyfloss of Karan Johar
Film Finance for Great Scripts in Indian Cinema: A myth or reality
Casting Blues: The Final Clincher
…And other Agonies …

I love short films. They’re perfect for when you’re in the mood to watch a film but don’t have the time. Hell, I even try to catch a couple here and there during the day at work. Sadly, the market for short films is just not there with the masses. Unless a Darna Mana Hai or Darna Zaroori Hai comes along with Ramu’s banner behind it, the audience won’t care much for it. But that’s just another reason I’m obsessed with Ramu :) I digress. This is not a post about Ramu.. calm down striker…

Short films can be just as challenging to make as a feature film, if not more. Feature films have a 2hr (or more) luxury time in which to captivate the audience. In some cases, even if the first half isn’t good, the second half can make up …

Continuing my inspired works based on music from films, here is some more stuff….

Omkara

Omi lives

Tej thaa jhonka kya karoon

Out I take my gunpowder and there you go down
I will not get any better now
Now that I have tasted it once
I am addicted till I die
These blue sheets below me and the sodiums do no longer any good
The make up looks a shade less real in the green room mirror

kabhi ankhiyon se peena Kabhi hothon se peena
Me redefining the way value was valued in the yore

The night passed in a whimper and it still lingered on, your harsh denial

Aisi phoonk lagi jaalim ki ke baansuri jaisi baaji main
And pop I said yes!
This beat will go till I like it to go on

Karvat karvat pyaas lagi thi
Tej thaa jhonka

I sang and I dance without a sense of time

Kabhi acha lage marna kabhi muskil lage jeena
Relief was just a …