-
This day only reminds me of being dressed in the stark white school uniform, the small Indian flag pinned to my uniform next to the handkerchief, standing in a mass of identically dressed children and the flag hoisting ceremony. Then, suddenly the tri-color would become a part of the blue sky, swaying in the wind. To this day, Jan Gana Mana remains my favorite song, more than Sare Jahan Se Achcha or any other Hindi Bollywood song. So, let’s us all hum and stand in respect whenever it plays, wherever it plays. Jai Hind!
-
Music ‘and’ Lyrics
Was just wondering whether it’s music or the lyrics which attract me to a song. Then I sat down and played a new song on the laptop, murmuring the song as I was swayed away by sleep. The next morning, I woke with the song and the lyrics playing in my head. And then I stopped musing over it.
-
Just A Thought
Was just wondering how it takes lyrics, in some of what becomes our favourite songs to affirm and make us believe in what we never thought was true. At the same time, it is also fascinating how we turn to these same songs so that they affirm what we think is right.
-
Aadukalam – A Playground Like None Other
With nearly 150 movies released in 2010 and 100 movies in 2011, the Tamil cinema industry seems to be flourishing greatly, reaching some hitherto unattained peaks. And one Tamil movie that has made many heads turn is Aadukalam (Playground).
Ever since the Tamil film industry came into existence, rivalry (most of them created by the media and people) has been tagging along till today. In this relay race of rivalry, the first set of actors, M K Thyagaraja Bhagavathar – P U Chinnappa, passed on the batons to MGR – Sivaji Ganesan, who then handed the batons to Rajnikanth – Kamal Hassan, who were then followed by Joseph Vijay – Ajith Kumar. But at present, it is not just two actors who are vying for the top position. The whole of Indian film industry has seen the likes of Suriya and Vikram prove their mettle in other language movies also.
A lot of movie buffs would beg to differ if I said that the existing rivalry for the top position is between Dhanush and Silambarasan (aka Simbu), but they’d for sure agree that there is a rivalry between them. While Simbu’s breakthrough success as a talented actor came only with Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya, Dhanush proved his mettle in his second movie, Kaadhal Kondaen (I Fell in Love) and Pudhupettai.
Dhanush earns a lot of brownie points for his portrayal of Karuppu in Aadukalam and certainly deserves the ‘National Film Award for Best Actor’.
Vetrimaaran, the director of Aadukalam, is just two movies old (including Aadukalam), but shows so much of maturity in terms of direction and screenplay. No wonder, he won the ‘Best Director’ award in the 58th National Film Awards. The movie won six national awards totally.
While I’m not really a fan of Vetrimaaran’s first film, Pollaadhavan, I should accept that I totally loved Aadukalam. For a person like me, who gives more importance to what message is conveyed by a form of art than how it is conveyed, Aadukalam is for sure a delight to watch. The movie contains hardcore violence in a few places, but still, it is believable and acceptable.
The movie is set in a town where rooster fights are quite common and are well-received and enjoyed by the people. Pettaikaaran (played by Jayabalan) and Rathnaswamy (played by Nareyn) are archrivals who do not consider rooster fight as a sport, but as a matter of their prestige.
Pettaikaaran is the best in the business, since he is aware of all the traditional practices in rearing roosters. Undoubtedly, he wins almost always. Karuppu (played by Dhanush) is a disciple of Pettaikaaran and learns all the tricks of the trade from his mentor.
In one of the rooster fights that follow, Karuppu enters his rooster despite Pettaikaaran’s asking him to not do so. Pettaikaaran disowns Karuppu and the rooster, saying he is not related to them in anyway since he is highly certain the rooster would not stand the challenge. Ironically, Karuppu’s rooster wins the fight and emerges the champion, also winning him a prize amount of two lakh rupees.
All hell breaks loose when Pettaikaaran realises that despite acting against his advice, Karuppu also proves him false. He begins to feel jealous about Karuppu’s achievement and plots to make life miserable for him. He continues to be a caring mentor, but is in real a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The movie is about what actions/atrocities, borne out of jealousy, Pettaikaaran commits and how Karuppu reacts to those.
I should accept that Vettrimaaran’s two years’ efforts have not gone in vain and have made a lasting impact on the audience’s minds.
It is the message of the movie that I respect a lot. The movie talks mainly about ‘perspective’. Ah! That’s an eleven-letter word that I love a lot. How you perceive things makes a huge difference in the way you react to them. The story would have been different if Pettaikaaran had felt proud of Karuppu’s accomplishment. But it’s the other way round and that’s what makes the movie much more beautiful.
Jayabalan, as Pettaikaaran, has done a fantastic job. I myself started swearing at him while watching the movie.
Aadukalam is for sure a must-watch! And those who want to begin watching Tamil movies can kick-start their journey with this wonderful movie.
List of National Awards won by Aadukalam:
- Best Director - Vetrimaaran
- Best Actor - Dhanush
- Best Screenplay - Vetrimaaran
- Best Editing - Kishore Te.
- Best Choreography - Dinesh Kumar
- Special Jury – Jayabalan
The song that fetched the Best Choreography award: Otha Sollala.
Written by Guest Writer: Vinay Kumaar who blogs here and here.
-
In Support Of Mr. Deekay Bose
“To one generation, Bose meant the freedom struggle. To another it was audio speakers. I shudder to think of the next. #delhibelly” – So went a tweet by journalist Madhavan Narayanan (@madversity) on Twitter. Now people have every right to say what they feel. Twitter is, after all, exactly that. A place for people to tell the world (that is, if said world is following them) their every whim, fancy, and, most importantly, rant.
Anyway, I digress.
The reason I write this post today is because Mr. Deekay Bose has managed what the femme fatales Munni and Sheila couldn’t. Bhaag DK Bose from Delhi Belly has polarised listeners. Some find it plain catchy; another song to listen to while travelling. Few find it to be inspired: by Green Day’s music. A large number of people hate it for its sheer audacity to hide a famous North Indian cuss word within an addictive tune, as well as lyrics where a father defames and discourages his own son.
“Daddy mujhse bola, tu galti hain meri.” / “Daddy once told me, that I’m his mistake.”
The people who hate Bhaag DK Bose are vociferous about it, while those who love it, well, they just love it. After all, what’s not there to love in it? MW (@menakasays) says on Twitter that it is “addictive. And energetic. And lively and did I mention addictive?” Zena Yarde, a student just out of college, feels that it has innovative lyrics. I agree. So did Dev.D’s Emoshanal Atyachaar which slyly inserted a ‘whore’ and ‘bitch’ into the lyrics.
But no one carried out a morcha then. Then why target DK Bose? Notice, most of the people targeting this song are people who have well reached past their thirties now. The youth of today, on the other hand, enjoy Eminem passing cuss words at the speed of rapper’s light in his songs. They love it when Linkin Park vents it out in their songs. So now if these same youth take pleasure in a song from our own country, that I would say, to some extent, is songwriting genius, is it a crime?
If I’m not mistaken, the people hating Bhaag DK Bose are the same who enjoyed Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hain when it came out? Entendre okay, open cussing (not even open) not?
“Tumhara ishq, ishq. Aur humara ishq, sex?”
Jay Maniyar (@jayblawgs) says that Bhaag DK Bose is “very populist.” But then if it is out to please all, why is it getting the backlash that it is? Nishtha Kanal (@RootKanal) says that “you cannot explain having bhosdike in your song to the parents of a ten year old kid.” True. When Kaminey released, a newspaper article said that there was a rise in the use of the word kaminey. I wondered then, what would happen once Inglourious Basterds released. Nothing did. Why? English film. It’s the popular culture that Indian folks are worried about. Nishtha adds, “I don’t approve of gaalis in mass culture; loses its sheen in a way.” But which ten-year old child isn’t exposed to cuss words, or sex scenes, or violence in movies? The best parents can do is explain to their children what it its implications are and why they shouldn’t go about singing it at their school during recess.
And then, the perplexing question. Where were these people during Munni and Sheila? So it is not okay if a father calls his son the foam from the soap (“saabun ki shakal mein, beta tu toh nikla keval jhaag”), but Sheila’s jawani being too sexy for us is acceptable. (The problem caused to people named Munni and Sheila is another issue altogether [men to blame, no denying that]; at least I don’t think there exists anyone named DK Bose; it’s an old joke anyway.) Weren’t ten year old kids singing “I’m too sexy for you” and gyrating to Munni’s Zandu Balm moves? Where was the moral brigade then?
Back to Bhaag DK Bose, I still consider it to be the catchiest of the lot. The interesting part is that bhosdike being a North Indian cuss word, many people were not familiar with the running joke (pun unintended) in the song. And these were 20-25 year olds I’m walking about. What’s the probability that a ten year old child will know the intricacies of the wordplay? Whose dirty mind is at work?
At the end of it all, I’m in favour of Mr. DK Bose running away from the storm (which he invariably is doing). Are you?
Written by Runcil Rebello (@MrNarci).
-
…And Then They Walked.
In 2007, the Scottish band Travis came out with a song called Closer which had lyrics like “I seek the truth/we set apart/thinking of/a second chance.” I do not know what the inspiration for the song was, but I can surely say that it bore a strong resemblance to the 2004 Mike Nichols-directed Closer, starring Jude Law (Dan), Natalie Portman (Anna), Clive Owen (Larry) and Julia Roberts (Alice).
Closer, adapted from a 1999 play of the same name by Patrick Marber, tells the story of two couples in England and how their lives begin to fall apart once they come to know each other. It may not seem like an innovative storyline, but it should be lauded for the way the story is told. We are just shown snippets into the lives of Dan, Alice, Larry and Anna, flitting across months and even years of their seemingly lovelorn and strife-ridden lives. As one of the plot summaries on iMDB aptly says, “The film … puts the four leading characters in a box and then takes them apart.”
Very few films manage to delve into human relationships and the feelings of love, trust, betrayal as well as Closer do. Closer wants us to embrace the truth, but also asks us to what extent can we do so. The truth hurts, and even destroys as we can see from the film. Two of the characters at different times in the film point out that without the truth, we are just animals. It marks out a characteristic trait of humans who want to be happy and yet want to be familiar with the truth, even though they know that it will mar them, devastate them to a point where life is very difficult to build back, yet is possible.
Closer also reminded me of Derek Cianfrance’s 2010 Ryan Gosling (Dean) and Michelle Williams (Cindy)-starrer Blue Valentine. Blue Valentine chronicled the disintegration of a marriage in a raw and tender manner, such as was rarely seen before. Blue Valentine, with regards its treatment, was opposite to Closer; we got to see the most intimate moments of Dean and Cindy, when they were puppy-eyed lovers, in love, in hate, when they fought, when they were distraught, and when they separated too: when there was nothing left but fireworks.
Both the films were also immensely helped by brilliant soundtracks. Grizzly Bear scored Blue Valentine; their folk rock background giving a boost to the realistic texture of the film. Everyone will agree that when Grizzly bear’s Alligator takes over once the surreal end credits begin, you can’t help but shed a tear. Another telling scene is the one when Dean plays the ukulele and gets Cindy to dance to his imperfect, yet beautiful singing. The film, too, is like that.
Closer, on the other hand, has one of the most memorable opening scenes. It may be a clichéd shot in cinema, but once again kudos to Mike Nichols for shooting it that way; it still stands out, also thanks due to Damien Rice’s fluent voice over his acoustic guitar. The remainder of the film uses a lot of classical music, Mozart is in demand here. Check out the sex chat scene set to Mozart; I think it was cinematic brilliance.
In the end, both are different films, yet have a similar core. RMJ’s co-writer Shubhra Rishi suggests that Candy is another film that is similar to these. These are not films that one can view every now and then, regularly. But these are films that one cherishes, it grows on you. And unlike the end of these two films where, coincidentally, a character walks away into oblivion, they will cement themselves in the closeness of your heart.
Written by Runcil Rebello.
-
Men(Who?)Pause
How do you think would a melophobic react when you tell him that you went to see MenWhoPause perform live at B Flat, Bangalore? Well, yes. But the band insists that they would want to focus on the word ‘pause’ and not the ‘punny’ version of it.
They call themselves a psychedelic rock band, but (for me) it was more of a Death Cab For Cutie (DCFC) meets Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP): a band consisting of guitarist Anup Kutty, singer/songwriter Sarabjit Chadha and acoustic guitarist Inder Pal Singh (IP), complete with bassist Randeep Singh and French drummer Paul Schneiter on drums.
Formed in 2001, the band has covered a lot of ground in India and abroad, insisting to play OCs instead of covers. They were promoting the launch of their album called ‘Easy’. The title track seemed groovy and reminded me of ‘I Will Possess Your Heart’ by DCFC. The other songs played by them included Circles, Downtown and Puppets and Paupers.
But the cherry on top was Katil Sardar, a treat for the Delhi Punjabi Rockers. It took the Bangaloreans by surprise and soon, each one of us was near the stage popping away.
A little research shows that Anup Kutty was an editor with Maxim, while the acoustic guitarist was actually a puppeteer and has produced a number of shows in the past.
What more do you want? A little talent, a little innovation and some great music; later, a good night’s sleep.
And yeah, B Flat is to Bangalore what Blue Frog is to Bombay, a scale lower maybe. Soulmate (whom we wrote about previously) performs next on June 22. Guess who will be the first to arrive? And yeah, another interesting fact, Soulmate and MenWhoPause have both performed in Haze, a popular pub in Delhi. Surely, there are more things in common.
Written by Shubhra Rishi.
Image Courtesy: Google.
-
I AM: Music Review
I AM, directed by Onir (My Brother Nikhil, Bas Ek Pal) is in the news for a lot of reasons. It has been financed by people from around the globe by their contributions through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. I AM also stands out due to the fact that it is not a single film but four different stories, four short films based on the theme of fear and also based on real-life happenings.
I AM also has multiple music composers on its soundtrack. Very few Hindi films go the way of having many composers. There have been instances in the past when one music composer has had problems when another one was brought on board (read: Anu Malik) But that does not stop the new breed of composers from handling a film together.
Amit Trivedi is the first composer on the soundtrack and also has majority of the songs. Baangur is typical Trivedi fare: Western instrumentation, yet Indian vocals and a Sufi feel. And still, it sounds so different from his previous work. Mame Khan (who was last heard on Trivedi track Aitbaar from No One Killed Jessica) and Kavita Seth (who has worked with Trivedi before on Iktara from Wake Up Sid) lend their bucolic voice to this fabulous opener. Baangur with its lead guitar sounds straight out of the seventies rock culture and then in comes the harmonium to remind you of its Indian roots, followed by Kavita Seth’s laidback yet heavenly and intense voice. Khan’s voice blends well with Seth’s to give us another rich and layered Trivedi song.
Issi Baat Pe, also composed by Trivedi starts off with the strumming of the guitar and a sitar too, but takes off into power-rock territory within no time. This time, it is KK behind the mic, someone whom we have not heard sing with Trivedi before. KK has sung such songs earlier, but it doesn’t matter because the song ends up as a refresher due to Trivedi’s musical leanings now veering towards the eighties, with synth and keyboard sounds making themselves more apparent.
Saye Saye starts off with the Muslim religious call and then Rekha Bhardwaj’s local flavour taking over along with Mohan. Saye Saye is very Rehmanesque in its approach. Trivedi allows the synths and strings to completely take over this song. At the same time, it allows for the two singers to show off their vocal prowess. Yet, it doesn’t quite hook you the way Baangur and Issi Baat Pe do.
Rajeev Bhalla is the second music director on the soundtrack and one that least impressed me. Bhalla in his debut film as a composer creates two tracks: Bhojhal Se and Wundoo Yeredoo. Bhojhal Se is an acoustic number with KK as its singer, and while it is better than most of the stuff that is thrown onto us by Hindi film composers in the name of songs; Bhojhal Se suffers because of its repetitive structuring. KK is as melodious as ever, and with this track coming immediately after Issi Baat Pe, KK displays his vocal strength. The song’s not bad, but when in the same soundtrack as Baangur and Issi Baat Pe, it slightly loses its sheen. Wundoo Yeredoo, on the other hand, comes off as weird as its title. With haywire synths and beats and auto-tuned voices, this one is best skipped.
Now we come to the third composer, Vivek Philip who was, surprisingly, the lone music director for Onir’s previous films. For I AM, he composes just one song: Aankhein. This song is the light-hearted, fluffy romantic tune of the album. Karthik croons this song and gets us to hum along as well. A cheerful song after the serious lyrics in the other songs in this soundtrack.
As with every other other Hindi film album, I AM, too, comes equipped with remixes. The first one is a remix of Bhojhal Se, with Rajeev Bhalla himself mixing it. The only difference between the original and the remix is the added synths, beats and Paroma Das Gupta mouthing unnecessary English lyrics. Better avoided. Issi Baat Pe, mixed by DJ Lloyd, is again a track that could have been left alone in its original style. Just adding beats to a song does not a remix make. Baangur appears as the final remix on the soundtrack, once again mixed by DJ Lloyd; for the third time, unnecessary.
A special mention to lyricists Amitabh Varma and Amitabh Bhattacharya. Bhattacharya has formed a constant duo with Trivedi, and here too their partnership shines through. Overall, if we remove the remixes aside, this soundtrack remains one of the better ones we’ve had this year.
Standout Songs: Baangur, Issi Baat Pe, Aankhein.
Written by Runcil Rebello.
Thanks to Julie Sam who helped with the Anu Malik link.
Image Courtesy: Google
Likes
-
Street Stories, Shillong
Bassist (and good friend and former music mates) won Hornbill Festival...
-
NEVER LET ME GO, directed by Mark Romanek (2010)
requests.
-
Penguin (by Sandra Dieckmann)
-
Curl up at the end, honey
Curl up at the edge.
A photograph taken at a forest in Lonavala. Not...
-
“The only thing a writer should be truly afraid of, as in completely terrified, is…having no pen.”
