Independence Day – India - play list

Along with wishing everyone a happy independence day I’d like to put forth an independence day play list of sorts. A collection of songs whose words and music have a strong patriotic spirit to it.

• National anthem: Featuring Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Vikku Vinayakram, Ravikiran, Kumaresh & Ganesh, Pt. Vishwamohan Bhat, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Jasraj, this collective instrumental version was produced by AR Rahman for the album "Jana Gana Mana".
• Missing: Loosely based on the iconic “Vande Mataram”, this piece was composed and produced by AR Rahman for the album "Vande Mataram".
• Vande Mataram:  Written by Mehboob and sung by the ‘crown princess of Indian playback music’ Lata Mangeshkar, this song was composed and produced by Ranjit Barot for the album "Vande Mataram 98". It combined the best of the modern and the yesteryears, a feat Ranjit Barot  effortlessly manages to accomplish given his strong classical training and a background in rock music. The choir’s harmonic rendition of “Suchalaam sufalaam” that opens this song is unique and a spell binding effort.
• Maa Tujhe Salaam: Rendered, composed and produced by AR Rahman (Does anyone still remember Yak Bondy?) for the album "Vande Mataram", the words for this song were written by Mehboob. The brief given to him was to not write a song that the youth would like but never sing.
• Desh mere desh: Sung by Sukhwinder Singh & AR Rahman, composed and produced by AR Rahman for the movie "The legend of Bhagat Singh". The words of this song were written by Sameer.
• Yeh jo desh hai thera: sung, composed and produced by AR Rahman for the movie "Swades". Javed Akthar’s words bring a melancholic and fond feeling to friends living in foreign lands and to natives alike.
• Theme music from "Bombay": Composed and produced by AR Rahman for the movie "Bombay", this song is alleged to have taken 3 months to complete delaying the release of the movie. Based on the same raag as Mohandas Gandhi’s favourite song, this piece of music kicked off the trend of having instrumental compositions on mainstream film music albums, although AR Rahman has been doing it since his first movie “Thiruda thiruda”. “Bombay” is also the best selling casette tape of all times in India, if the accounting was transparent in the industry it would have rivalled MJ’s “Thriller” too in terms of copies sold.
• Azadi: Sung, composed and produced by AR Rahman for the movie "Bose, the forgotten hero", the words were written by Javed Akthar. This movie didn’t get quite the attention it deserved, it was a good effort and the music was top notch. This was one of AR Rahman’s lengthiest albums with a total of 19 tracks on the soundtrack CD.
• Thamizha thamizha: Sung by Hariharan, written by Vairamuthu, composed and produced by AR Rahman for the movie "Roja". (Bharat humko jaan say pyaara hai is the same tune in Hindi)
• Desk ki mitti: Words by Javed Akthar, sung by Sonu Nigam, composed and produced by AR Rahman for the movie "Bose, the forgotten hero".
• Sarfarosh ki tamanna: Written by Sameer, sung by Sonu Nigam & Hariharan, composed and produced by AR Rahman for the movie "The Legend of Bhagat Singh". 

“Chak de” composed by Salim-Sulaiman due for the movie “Chak de India”, “Mera mulk mera desh” from the movie “Diljale” composed by Anu Malik are some honourable mentions.

This writer has a strong bias towards AR Rahman which would be evident looking at the songs in this play list. There have been timeless gems from the olden days, since my understanding and exposure to music from that period is limited I’ve restrained myself to only mention songs that came out after 1992.

Are there any other songs in the last 2 and 1/2 decades that should have been mentioned?

Geo's talkies - Kurbaan

At the outset I have to confess, I'm not a fan of all the movies that have come out of Dharma Productions. I don't like to be treated like someone whose brain is in a deep freezer. I also have to confess that I went to watch "Kurbaan" with a lot of contempt, I even argued with a friend about the quality of content that could be on screen. I'm glad I was proven wrong, the movie turned out to be a surprise, a rather pleasant one at that.

Rensil D'Silva's directorial debut turned out to be an engaging thriller worth the money you pay to gain admission into the theaters. Previously credited for the screenplay of "Rang De Basanti" along with Rakesh Mehra, Rensil writes Karan Johar's story for the screen and does it respectably. Here's a movie Bollywood can be proud off, here's an effort from Karan Johar's production house that'll partly answer all the criticism he's been getting from many sources, the harshest being the folks at PFC.

I don't want to spell out the story, it's about a Muslim man and Hindu woman falling in love, both are professors in a college in Delhi. They move to the US, the man going abroad to get the woman to return back to her US university job. A murder in the asian neighbourhood they live in and suspicious characters of a particular religion get's the movie to speed up. There are moments when you lose a heart beat following on-screen action, there is a lot of suspense and all's well does not end well.

Saif Ali Khan plays the role of Ehsaan, he almost underplays his character to terrific effort. He looks slightly older than the age he portrays on screen though. Kareena plays her role of Avantika to perfection, from being subtle she moves to forceful in a sublime sort of a way towards the end. Vivek Oberoi excels in the role of Riyaz, a journalist with a news channel despite intermittently botching up the accent when he has to speak like an American citizen. Diya Mirza plays Rehana and sticks out like a sore thumb amidst these acting talents, she's wooden to say the least.

Salim - Sulaiman have delivered a rousing background score to the movie with loads of silence interspersed. There's a lovely piano that's played to highlight certain emotions and a very country-sounding guitar is employed for the lighter scenes. I liked the background score more than the soundtrack which is good despite having the characteristic KJo rhythm patterns. I'd like to call the editing lazy, despite being a thriller the transitions between scenes aren't abrupt, they are gradual, works in a very nice way.

Of course parallels might be drawn by some to "Fanaa", "New York", "Khuda Ke Liye" however the similarity would just be the backdrop of terrorism that these movies are set to. "Kurbaan" refreshingly avoids taking an over-simplistic view of the subject, it doesn't give you a long sermon in the end about good and bad, it doesn't take sides, I loved this aspect of the movie the most. Another aspect is the lack of dumbing down the film and the absence of flashbacks for every single plot point.

There's a scene in the movie where the camera focuses to Kiron Kher's (A regular in Dharma Productions) face while she speaks about incidents in her life and in that one minute, you paint a picture of what she's talking about in your mind to such dramatic effect that introducing a flashback scene there cannot match what your mind portrays to you in response to the acting on screen. Kiron Kher and Om Puri excel in the roles they have been assigned.

Nakul Kamte's sound design is minimalistic, I can say this simply because in the South we are used to turning once in a while to check what's going on because of the sound that emanates from the surround speakers. When Saif and Kareena are having a dialogue on the roof top of a building about moving to the US there is silence in the soundtrack, clear dialogues, birds chirping, a hint of a breeze and many such atmospheric elements, nice work.

Despite the lack of a water tight plot, despite not being an overtly intelligent movie, despite being able to guess the twists beforehand, "Kurbaan" is a must watch for it's content, top class acting (the best this year) and a decent screenplay.

Geo's Talkies - Kaminey

This is going to a little difficult, trying to write about a movie I enjoyed completely without spelling out it's plot. 'Kaminey', the newest Vishal Bharadwaj movie comes with a lot of baggage. The man at the helm of affairs doesn't treat the audience with kid gloves and is adept at making movies for kids and adults with such aplomb that you wonder if he suffers from multiple personality disorder, and I'm not even talking about the fact that he writes his own music.

'Kaminey' is Vishal's take on the time tested hindi movie 'twin brother' plot. The movie is a roller coaster with lots of thrills, it's twisted and take off into various directions, however the grand finale comes across as fitting. Charlie and Guddu are identical twins who are opposites. The former has a speech impairment which makes him pronounce 's' as 'f' and the latter stammers. Charlie works for a group of Bengali Brothers who fix horse races while Guddu is associated with an NGO. Guddu is caught in a situation when he impregnates Sweety during an outing, the irony here is that the song just before this revelation is about protection, condoms and AIDS. Sweety is the sister of a linguistic chauvinist who mouths 'jai maharashtra', whose name is Bhope Bhau. Bhope cannot fathom the fact that his sister has fallen for a guy who is an outsider, another lovely piece of screenplay where Guddu's real name Sanjay Kumar Sharma (hails from UP) is portrayed on screen.

Any more of the story would really be a farce, the movie is best enjoyed on screen. It takes about half hour in which about ten or so characters are introduced on screen and you might end up wondering what's going on. But you got to let the movie play out and by the time it's interval you are almost familiar with everyone. This movie is infested with 'kamineys' in the form of drug lords, cops, politicians and what not.

This movie also is so grounded in today's world, the world where a guy from UP is perceived as an outsider in Maharashtra, a world where Trivandrum has become Thiruvananathapuram, Bombay, Mumbai, Calcutta, Kolkata and so on. There's a lovely scene between Sweety and Shahid on screen where she proclaims her love for him using the city names (read politically correct), Vishal can combine love and politics so subtly into the screen play. Charlie and Guddu's Father who hails from UP works for the Railways, the anti-narcotic squad cops who are hand in glove with the drug trafficking mafia are some examples.

Trains play an understated role in this movie, some of the sweeping moment in this movie are framed on screen with a train passing by or still which almost plays conscience or mirrors the flow of thought in the head of the character on screen at that particular time. Colours in the movie are muted to give it a noir feel I suppose. Most of the filming is done using the steadicam which transports you right into the action.

The writing is probably the star of 'Kaminey', every character get's his/her own time on screen and it takes a while to get used to this kind of exposition. Shahid has done a superb job of portraying Charlie & Guddu and almost makes us believe that they are two different people, Priyanka finally has done very good acting. I believe they've used sync sound in which case the work done capturing sounds and dialogues are amazing. Amole Gupte (hint: Taara Zameen Par) excels in the role of Bhope Bhau. There are many more people who have played their part to perfection. 

Tassadaq Hussain's camera work is exquisite. Vishal's music is as much a star as the writing of this movie. The background score complements the narrative without screaming for attention, a quality that is rare. This is one of those movies where you have someone in charge who is sure of the direction he wants to go and comes out with flying colours in his effort. Vishal's fascination for Shakespeare is well known, he's done a brilliant job of adapting Shakespeare to the Indian milieu in two of his previous outings. On this one he's tried to incorporate some plot elements of the Bard along with screenplay elements of Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie and the like. A nice song plays in the background during the gangster show down in the very end almost like the title song in 'Omkara' which was filmed with scenes of action and violence.

I'm not going to talk about the laconic black humour that is lined up in almost every scene, they keep the laughs coming. The result is an excellent movie which keeps the viewer enthralled during it's playing time and doesn't indulge in insulting the viewer's intelligence by playing out long drawn flashback sequences for every plot twist. Bravo Vishal, can't wait for the next movie which would complete his Shakespeare trilogy.

Geo's Talkies - Om Shanti Om

I tried to find out what really was the meaning of the word 'entertainment' though I very well know what it means. I just wanted to be able to be able to express the meaning of the word 'entertainment' in a short sentence. So I'd like to agree that 'entertainment' is "a diversion that holds attention". It's side effects are joy, laughter, happiness and a myriad other things which could even be suspense if you're like me. 'Om Shanti Om' is a movie that is 'entertaining' and the reason for that is one man - Shah Rukh Khan. I have no qualms in stating this. I'd like to state for the record that I've seen most if not all of Shah Rukh's movies and I like his persona but I'm not quite a HUGE fan.

This movie is Farah Khan's second directorial outing and has she worked out a formula which tells a story and entertains at the same time? YES, that's the absolute answer. 'Om Shanti Om' is a movie that defies and embraces all genres at the same time. The movie broadly is a romance and is thrilling towards the end of the second half. The story line is very simple, it's the execution that comes up in shining colors. The movie is a story of a guy named Om, a junior artiste who is hopelessly smitten by the charms of the very beautiful leading lady of the 70's Shantipriya. Om hopes to make it to the actors league some day and is supported by an 'over the top' Kiron Kher as his Mother and Shreyas Talpade as his best buddy.

A tragedy occurs in the middle of the movie and Om reincarnates in a new avatar, the only difference is that this time he's already what he wanted to be in the previous birth. He's born in an affluent filmi family, he's a star already and he wins the Filmfare best actor award. He's got girls drooling all over him and he dictates scripts to directors and producers because that's how he works, or probably that's how it works for him. It is at this point that a chance encounter with the memories of his previous life rekindles the spirit of love and revenge in Om and when he meets a tall legged pretty nubile nymph who's startling resemblence to Shantipriya of the 70's. How does Om get the villain to confess? Does he get revenge? Is love timeless? Does Om get to unite with the love of his 'previous' life? All questions are answered in a perfectly filmi ishtyle.

Every frame has Shah Rukh stamped over it, his screen presence, excellent comic timing and passion makes this movie watch worth and repeat watch worthy. The story is pretty straight forward which is why I didn't mind disclosing most of the key plot points. There's lots in store in the movie, the lines will make one laugh heartily and the dialogues from old movies and hollywood look patched but they go well with the flow of the movie. The sets in the movie when showing the 70's are just spell binding, all credits to Sabu Cyril for the excellent work. For a movie that is loud in terms of colors used for dresses on screen, the sets stand out for their sheer authenticity and brilliance. Manikandan's camera does justice to every penny spent on the sets.

Music is the other highlight of the movie apart and the credits for this goes to Vishal / Shekar. I would like to specially mention the 'Om Shanti Om' climax song which is picturized as an opera-meets-reality-show. There's no need to mention that Farah Khan's dance choreography is excellent. SPOILER **** It's time to welcome the prettiest ghost in the history of Hindi cinema, Deepika Padukone is the prettiest face to have debuted in recent times. She's got an ethereal sense of beauty to her due to the way the shots are lit up and portrayed on screen. There's no real depth to her character but who cares, all the close up shots look gorgeous.

Sandeep Chowta has scored the background music for the movie which is apt and likeable. I'm a big fan of movies and I should also add here that I watch all sorts of movies. Yes, I do like some of the artsy ones too but I don't miss on a movie that's an entertainer. Do NOT miss this movie because if you do then you are simply missing a wholesome entertainer.

# Trivia

* Dialogues from Titanic ("king of the world") and Gone with the wind("Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn") pepper the movie at regular intervals.

* All the crew have acted in the movie too.

* Shah Rukh's wife Gauri Khan makes a sparkling debut on screen at the very end.

* 31 current actors from Bollywood made their appearance in the extended 'Om Shanti Om' song lighting up the screen.