January 7, 2010

Musical Madness

Music for MY NAME IS KHAN released in India today! I am eagerly eagerly anticipating to listen to it. After hearing a clip in the Sajda promo, I think we may have a potential love affair in the making. Anyway, here's the incredibly promising audio list:

The music is directed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy and lyrics by Niranjan Iyengar who's better known for writing dialogues.

1)Allah Hi Rahem
Singers: Ustad Rashid Khan

2)Khan Theme

3)Noor E Khuda
Singers: Adnan Sami, Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal

4)Rang De
Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Suraj Jagan

5)Sajda
Singers: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Richa Sharma

6)Tere Naina
Singers: Shafqat Amanat Ali

Also, my verdict on VEER is a good one. I wasn't disappointed by the tracks at all. I like the songs in this order:

1) Kanha - A sultry Rekha Bhardwaj thumri... there's no going wrong. I just really, really love this style of music.

2) Salaam Aaya - A playful romantic number that hits all the right chords (pun intended).

3) Taali- Chorus version - Sukhwinder Singh's fierce voice is matched with a lot of percussion. This could have potentially been number two, but the song gets a little too repetitive.

4) Surili Ahkiyon Duet - I hate to see a Rahat number so far down on my list! All the other songs are just that good and this number doesn't sound all that different from his other tracks, but it's still lovely and I really like the lyrics.

5) Meherbaniyaan - This song I was disappointed with. I was hoping to hear some magic from Sonu Nigam, though he didn't let down with his singing (does he ever?). This song just hits me the wrong way and sounds out of place with the rest of tracks. I think it's supposed to be an upbeat old Western piece, but I'm personally not feeling it but again Sonu Nigam's singing is commendable.

Overall the songs are good the first time around but really grow on you. The only ones I instantly loved were Kanha and Salaam Aaya.

Promos, Trailers and Friends

Wohoo! The first teaser of KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK finally dropped!



A little birdie tells me (and I do mean that almost literally because I'm referring to Twitter) that Karsh Kale is helping with the background score! Along with Midival Punditz and Farhan Akhtar. If you're in the dark about who Karsh Kale and Midival Punditz are, they're both amazing fusion artists. I can't express how soulful and soothing their music is so I'm going to leave you with this video I stumbled upon with both of them performing at The Paleo Festival in Geneva. You're seriously in for a treat:



If you're curious, the soundtrack is being directed by the Amar Akbar Anthony of music Shankar Ehsaan Loy.

Another promo for Rann has been released. This one's a song promo titled "Vande Mataram":



I know I'm supposed to feel really empowered by this, but the only thing that really intrigues me in this entire mess of a trailer is Riteish. The rest of it is so stereotypical Ram Gopal Varma that I've become immune to it. You?

All Izzn't Well

... but MOST izz well with 3 IDIOTS.

Let's start with the plus points. To begin with, this movie was easily one of the most anticipated movies of the year so obviously it had a huge opening weekend. Number two, not only did it open huge it totally met up to ALL the hype that was built up before the release. This film is breaking records and here are some stats to prove it. According to India's Business Standard Newspaper, 3 Idiots has made 51 million dollars (2.4 billion rupees) from the global market taking the title of the biggest Bollywood blockbuster, moving Ghajini down a spot which had made 2.25 billion rupees.

Truth be told, I was really nervous about this movie for two reasons. Firstly, Amir Khan (AK) was to be playing a college student, how on earth was that going to be pulled off? But it somehow did. I caught myself trying to disassociate myself from the charm, while watching the movie, to see if he did look too old for the part but I couldn't see it so AK succeeded. Who's surprised though? Secondly, how many directors manage a hat trick? Let alone a newbie director? Rajkumar Hirani met awesome success with his directorial debut, Munnabhai M.B.B.S.. He then went on to create a sequel, Lage Raho Munnabhai and proved the skeptics wrong and the nation was swept with Gandhigiri. Could he really have a third superhit? Welp, he did... who thinks he can go for a fourth with Munnabhai Chale Amerika?

Now for the negative... er 'negative.' Those who keep up with the Bollywood world know that 3 Idiots was inspired by Chetan Bhagat's Five Point Someone - What not to do at IIT. Now those of you who really really keep up with the Bollywood world/live in India know that there is/was a feud between Bhagat and The 3 idiots team. So here's what I've gathered: Chetan, like any blogger, expressed how he felt on his blog. He felt cheated. Upon reading the script, he was under the impression that the film was only going to be 5% of his book. After watching the film, he claims there were countless similarities and that he he wasn't recognized properly. Which, irrespective of how much was borrowed, I do think the film makers should have given recognition at the beginning instead of the ending during the credits. At the same time, however, Bhagat should've paid attention while signing the contract. So, in my opinion, it goes both ways. Also, during a press conference with the 3 Idiots teams one duffer of a journalist inquired/accused the team about the Bhagat controversy without having read the book. So Mr. Chopra doesn't have any of it and speaks without thinking and the journalists, in turn, are outraged and demand an apology. I'm reminded of a scene out of some sort of Madhur Bandharkar film. Watch the video:

To my knowledge, no solution was really reached just a lot of drama but the dispute's finally ended.