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Just saw Wes Anderson’s latest fratricidal fun-on-the-run The Darjeeling Limited! Totally loved it. Love the meandering (and seeking) nature of the narrative, which is similar in structure to the Coens’ comedy work but yet so different. And that’s got a lot to do with Anderson’s dialogues, which sound profound if put on paper but in the context of his films are completely redundant.

Like this scene towards the end of the film when Francis (Owen Wilson) unwraps his bandage to reveal the wounds he suffered in an accident (maybe attempted suicide). The three are all looking at the bathroom mirror, with brothers Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) checking out Francis’s bloody face reflected on the glass.
Francis: I guess I’ve still got a lot of healing to do.
Jack: Gettin’ there, though.
Peter: Anyway, it’s definitely going to add a lot of character to you.

It’s completely sumptuous but what makes …

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 …

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). …

……..no guys, no scandals here. And sorry to declare it on a public paltform like this. But as a film fanatic, think have the license to be vocal about my feelings. what to do, her voice has some magic that always works for me.

Since last two days, am listening to only one song in infinite loop mode…..ehi thaiyya motia heraiye gayeli rama….my gmail chat status is the same…..ehi thaiyya motia…rekha rocks. Am desperatle looking for this song to set it as caller tune. Hutch guys plz get it. Its still not there. So, for the time being its the other favourite from Omkara….zubaan pe laga namak ishq ka.

Ehi thaiyya motia…Its from Laga Chunari Me Daag. And according to my whatever uneducated musical taste, this is the best song of the album. Infact the only song that works for me. Dont actually know how much and what is the contribution …

After the catchy, layered and eminently entertaining Dus Vishal-Shekhar return to toss in tunes for Anubhav Sinha’s crime caper Cash. With a mission statement for catchy dance-floor ditties, the duo gleefully turn to their experimental side that gave us adventures like right here right now from BluffMaster!, the title track for Golmaal: Fun Unlimited and the songs of I See You (especially subah subah).

Golmaal’s Anushka Manchanda returns to the playful layered Naughty Naughty, a song that seems to take off where that last song ended into a changing palette of moods and rhythms. Although she’s the only one credited on the track, the composer duo toss in vocal refrains and bandy questions and responses all over the track. The straight-faced lyrical nonsense mixes trance samples and a strong Dhol beat, tossing in the occasional Dholak for good measure.

The trio return in zaraa bach ke jii and this time everyone gets …

With Saawariya introducing the world to the acting talent of Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, and Om Shanti Om rocket launching the career of Deepika Padukone, I got to thinking about the major stars of Hindi cinema who were introduced in the new millenium… and many an actor made his debut since Y2K, only a few have had the kind of impact which could earn them the title of bona fide stars…

This is not a list or even an analysis, but rather an observation… Hindi Cinema has attempted to launch many an acting career these past 8 years, however how many saleable stars has it created? How many of the many new faces we’ve been introduced to really have the power to pull in audiences, even with a few films under their belt? I can, unfortunately, only think of a few…

Of course there’s Hrithik Roshan, the quintessential new superstar of …

“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 …

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 …

A R Rahman does not stop surprising me. ‘Pray for Me, Brother’ is an exceptional composition. The modulations, especially towards the middle of the song when Rahman reaches a vocal crescendo are out of this world. Gave me goose bumps. Brilliant vocals, mind blowing music, and the presence of the genius make it one in a million. Amazing!

One goes deeper and discovers that the song as been composed under the aegis of the UN and who better to lend voice and music to an idea that germinates at the end of the road for floundering humanity than A R Rahman, the epitome of cultural amalgamation and religious unity. One of India’s greatest exports to the world of international music, he deserves every accolade that he gets. The song serenades, cajoles and forces you to think. The world’s getting smaller, but every one’s having problems making the distance. There’s death, destruction …

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 …

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 …

A recent post by HG on musicals reminded me of a project that I did few months back.
It was based on Exploration of the Song in the Hindi film. The project was called Are You Song For It/Whose Song Is It Anyway?

I plan to share some of the text from that project here in a series of articles.

Here I go again. Bollywood. Songs. Dreams. Exploration of thought. Tradeoff of dreams. Consumption of songs.

The vantage (I don’t know what it means, I just like the word) point of this project is my love-love relationship with Hindi film songs. There is no need to tell how much I have loved and lived these songs. If I was to calculate, I would have spent more time living these songs than the combined time put in sleeping, studying and fighting my entire life, well, whatever there has been till now.

A …

(Note: This article is a bit random; bits and bobs - no flow!)

Music (songs) is an integral part of our film industry. It is very-highly-likely that a hindi film would not be made without songs. Some say music - i mean, filmi music is part of our culture. And others say people would not watch a hindi film without songs - music is one of the key factor people look at when they decide to watch a hindi film. (I think, that is a myth which needs to be unraveled.) Thus, we see producers spending millions on songs, filming a 3 hours long music video and picking a story from kachrapeti.

Anyway, my aim is not to get rid of songs from the hindi cinema industry or trying to solve that myth. In fact, I want to see people make genuine hindi musical films. Let me say that again: I …