Mysorean

Whoever said time doesn’t wait for anyone wasn’t present at Narada Gana Sabha on the 11th day of February. Time paused for me. I saw A R Rahman. After 15 years of adoring, praising, writing, reading, mailing, drooling (over his music), getting lost in it, wondering how he could come up with that, admiring and sometimes just amazed into silence, here I come face to face with A R Rahman.

The function was slated to start at 6PM but after waiting for the chief guest A R Rahman for sometime, they started at 6.45PM without him. But I was waiting outside the function hall to catch a glimpse of the man. He came in at around 7.15PM as the time stamp indicates. And he rushed in. 
 

That’s him and that’s his Innova. There were lot of people who stood next to that car and clicked photos while Rahman’s driver looked on amused! I have made a mental note of the car’s registration number. From now on every Toyota Innova will be an object of respect because I would have lowered my eyes to first check if the registration number matches 1771!! :))

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My favourite movie for the last year ‘Rang De Basanti’ is out of the race for the Oscars in the “Best Foreign Feature Film” category.

‘Water’ is in the shortlist of the 9 films that will be considered for the nominations. It is still in the race for the final award. I don’t know why it is called a ‘surprise’ when they decided to shortlist ‘Water’ in this category. It was Canada’s official entry and if it wins the award I am sure everyone will pounce to take pride that it’s a movie made by an Indian with all Indian actors and all that. Right! But we just didn’t have the courage to release it in India.

I am waiting for January 23rd, when the nominations for the best song will be announced. A R Rahman has three songs in the race. Keeping my fingers crossed!

By the way, here is the review of ‘Guru’ by Richard Corliss for TIME magazine.

Dear Rahman,

May God bless you with a life of peace and happiness!

And may you continue to enrich our lives with those musical gems.
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Fifty-six songs from eligible feature-length motion pictures are being considered in the Original Song category for the 79th Academy Awards®, it has been announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.The original songs, along with the motion picture in which each song is featured, are listed here in alphabetical order.

On Tuesday, January 16, the Academy will screen clips featuring each song, in random order, for voting members of the Music Branch in both Beverly Hills and New York City. Following the screenings, members will vote to determine which three, four or five songs become nominees in the category.

Want to know why I am writing this here?
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My father came back from office that day and was surprised to see me back home so early from my street cricket. We used to play in a small ground next door. He asked me what the matter was and why I was so excited? I reminded him of the “Roja” cassette and his promise. He was casual about it and said that it will be done by tomorrow. And I was gung-ho about it!

I got up much before my usual time the next day and was ready to remind my father. But he had it on his mind and said, “It will be done today, don’t worry”.

Evening set in. My father returned. I opened his briefcase and he shouted, “What is it that you want there?” 

“Appa, Roja”

“It is done, but my colleague said that he will get it tomorrow”

“Appa, you said you will get it today and annu is asking for his cassette too”

“Tell him that I have taken it to office and the cassette will be returned to him tomorrow”

Needless to say, I didn’t have dinner that day. And sat with a long face throughout. If anyone would have seen me that day, they would have thought I was bereaved!

Next evening. Same story. I was in tears. But I had dinner. Very hungry you see! ;)

Day 3 evening, my father came back home and I didn’t even bother to return home from my cricket. I went home as usual and tried hard not to make a sound while opening the briefcase in the verandah. But still it made a sound that my father would have surely heard who was sitting in the drawing room reading some book. But he didn’t react. So, I thought he was planning a surprise and wanted me to discover for myself. But alas, no Roja in there.

No tears this time round. Nothing. Emotions die down with time they say. Very true. To have cried two days for something is in itself was a big achievement for me!

I strolled into my room, grabbed a towel and went in for a wash. After street cricket you are quite dirty, if you didn’t know that. Came back, changed and went to my two-in-one to play ”Saajan” – the musical hit that I was listening to then.

And I didn’t believe what I saw lying next to ”Saajan”. It was “Roja” - Annu’s cassette. And below it was the TDK 90 cassette. I took it out of the cover and carefully put it into the two-in-one and pressed “Play”. It didn’t occur to me to go and thank my father.  

The flute sound that played to signal the beginning of “chinna chinna aasai” brought tears into my eyes. And oh man, “Roja” is an all-time favourite for me and for many of those who love good music.

Everytime I hear “Chinna chinna aasai”, this entire sequence unrolls itself in front of me and I am transported back into the Mysore era, the high-school era and my school friends group!

Various Rahman albums transport me back in time as well as into those ecstatic musical moods! Every Rahman album is a milestone with which I can relate every part of my life to. I intend to write about what each album means to me and where it takes me back into in my future posts. So, stay tuned! :)

A R Rahman-Gulzar-Mani Ratnam, a combination that has come together again after Dil Se… And i was waiting breathlessly for this. And though I am in no position to pass my comments yet on this one, let me just say this: This one too will rock the nation!

Though I am constantly listening to this one in the background, I don’t want to blog a review on it. Because then I would be hurrying to pass a verdict on this one. Let me wait and let it grow on me. Rather I would say, like every other album let me be engulfed into it slowly and when I write a review in that state of mind, it will be the truth. Also, I do believe that when you write a review about something you need to totally understand what you are reviewing. And for a person of my IQ, I need time to understand & review A R Rahman’s music! (But for now, let me leave it with this: Shreya Ghosal’s voice is sexy!)

The official release date of Guru is 18th ie. tomorrow. But as it always happens (with any good supply chain and Sony-BMG has a good distribution policy) the CDs and cassettes arrived today at 9PM so that tomorrow first thing in the morning they are available. And what do I do? Like a dutiful A R Rahman fan, I rush to the nearest Music World (Pondy Bazaar, for the chennaites) and grab my copy and also one for my brother-in-law (who incidentally is a music composer and a big fan of ARR again!). When I was in the Music World (it was raining outside and I had to wait for 10 minutes to get back home), the guy was playing “Guru” on his system. Someone went upto him and asked him to change the cd. I immediately ran to him and requested him not to play something else. I didn’t want to waste my time by not listening to “Guru”!

If you thought I was mad, I should tell you about my fascination for A R Rahman. it extends to the time I was in my 8th standard. ‘Roja’ was just out. Everyone was talking about him. I was in Bangalore on some vacation. Since I was in Mysore then, we used to travel down to Bangalore very frequently. And during one such trip, my doDappa (Father’s elder brother) introduced me to A R Rahman. He had bought a new Philips Powerhouse just then and during those days a powerhouse was BIG for me. He played “rukumani rukumani” on the system and said, “Listen to this, nobody has ever used drums so confidently in Indian music so far!”. From then on, I have been hooked on to his music like a baby-in-the-womb is to the heartbeat of its mother!

My pocket money those days were Re.1 per day paid once a month. And that cassette of ‘Roja’ costed Rs. 28/- if I remember right. I don’t need to tell you what my budget included for the next month. But my boss (father), like a good finance man, didn’t approve my budget saying ”unfair allocation” (almost 95% of my monthly income was allocated to one item). According to him that would mean that would mean a hefty downfall in my yearly savings to buy a headphone (so that I would not disturb everyone in my house [my father claimed that everyone in the neighbourhood complained to him and that's why he didn't go out of the house once he was back from office] with my music). And he gave me an idea. My neighbour friend actually had a cassette of Roja. I still remember the cover of that cassette. A top angle shot of Madhubala lying on Arvindswamy’s lap against a perfectly white background with Mani Ratnam’s ROJA in tamil prominently displayed at the front and A R Rahman’s name in tamil at the bottom. There as an insert of A R Rahman’s photograph at the left-top corner too. Coming back, my father asked me to get that cassette from my friend for a day and he would get it copied onto a blank cassette through his friend’s tape recorder so that we would get it in good quality. Though we had a two-in-one tape recorder I refused the suggestion that we could record it ourselves saying I want it in the same quality as the original. So he had to say he would get it done from outside. (read outside as a place where maybe the same recording was done but I wouldn’t know na! Appa, you have really taken me for a ride so many times when I was innocent and small na?! Poor me!)  

I was ready to run across to my friend’s house and get the cassette at 9PM in the night. 9PM was considered unrespectable during those days! So, I had to wait till I came back from school the next day. The whole day in school I was just waiting for it to get over! I remember rushing back home on my Hero Ranger (it was a famous brand of cycles then). I changed into colour dress (you get the drift?!), had my tea and snacks and ran to my neighbour’s house. I was literally breathless when I reached there. It is the same breathlessness I experience till-date when I wait for an A R Rahman album to release. I borrowed it from them with a guarantee that I would give it back the day after tomorrow (I remember that they almost made me swear! Mainly because they couldn’t part with the music for more than days and partly because of my reputation!). I took it carefully with me in my hands, since the pocket of my stretchlon half-trousers was too small for the cassette, and deposited it at home with a specific instruction to my mom -
“Don’t misplace it!” (I still laugh aloud when I hear that! I was so careful about something for the first time in my life I guess!). My father would come back from office and take it with him the next day to get it recorded and then I would have my own copy of ‘Roja’. It was a wait which was the most anticipated…

…To be continued         

This article had to be on my blog. For two reasons: One, I love A R Rahman and Two, about Shah Rukh Khan the less said the better!

Considering that most filmmakers would give an arm and a leg to work with A R Rahman, it’s something of a shocker to know that King Khan has replaced him with
Vishal-Shekhar (Bluffmaster!, Dus) for his upcoming project. The film in question is Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om, which is being produced by SRK’s banner, Red Chillies Entertainment.

SRK had a problem

The grapevine goes that the deal was scrapped for two reasons. Firstly, Shah Rukh didn’t like the tunes that Rahman had composed. Secondly, Rahman demanded a huge amount as his fee, which Farah refused to pay.

When contacted, Rahman says that he is indeed out of Om Shanti Om, but denies that SRK had problems with his compositions (they’ve earlier worked together in Dil Se and Swades). “The truth is that we had some problems over contractual obligations. That is why I am not doing the film,” he says.

Rahman adds that he wanted the publishing rights of the music to rest with the producer, the lyricist and the composer. But Farah and Shah Rukh flatly refused.

“Actually, Shah Rukh had a problem. He could not come to terms with what I wanted. We were trying to sort this out since the last two to three months, but it just didn’t happen. SRK is a big star and maybe he doesn’t need anybody. I wish it had materialised so that more composers can get their dues in India. Someone has to start this here and I am pressing for it.”

Aamir understood

On the other hand, Rahman has succeeded in getting a share of the publishing rights for Aamir Khan’s next film, directed by Abbas Tyrewalla. “I met Aamir and he understood what I wanted in an instant. It could be because Tyrewalla’s film is a small budget venture, unlike Farah’s, which is a biggie,” Rahman says.

And what of the 2 crore that he demanded as his fee? Rahman says, “I don’t do just the music in the songs, I also provide the background score. So I charge accordingly. But I guess it’s okay. Farah and I went our own ways this time, but we did tell each other that we’d work together some other time.”

‘We love Rahman’

For his part, Vishal Dadlani is glad to be a part of the project. “It’s true that Shekhar and I are doing Om Shanti Om now. We’ve known Farah for nearly two years and have done a lot of work together. She called us ten days back, and we were very happy to do it for her. We got so charged after listening to the story that we’re already ready with four songs,” he says.

The duo is also aware that Rahman was doing the film before them. “We knew that, but didn’t get into the details of what transpired between them. To tell you the truth, we are in this industry because of Rahman. He’s a great inspiration. If we were to make a film tomorrow, we would sign A R Rahman to compose the music.”

Interestingly, quite a few eyebrows were raised when Farah chose Rahman over Anu Malik for Om Shanti Om, considering his music played a big role in the success of Main Hoon Na. Our well-informed sources tell us that before assigning Om Shanti Om to Rahman, Farah had indeed thought of Anu but later changed her mind.

We wonder if the soundtracks of Zindaggi Rocks or Umrao Jaan might have had something to do with that?

Irrespective of this article I knew that A R Rahman is out of Om Shanti Om. I don’t know what the problem was though. Though I might not particularly like SRK, I have come to know him as a professional going about doing his job while the media creates all these images. Maybe the money that would come from the music rights was the only biggest chunk that they thought it could produce! (Sorry, couldn’t resist that one!)

On a serious note, kudos to A R Rahman for standing up and asking for his rights. This act of his stands to benefit the entire community of music directors. We are with you A R Rahman. And we love you as always!

No! I take back my words! It is not a gender-changed remake of HDDCS! I don’t want to insult HDDCS. Not that HDDCS was a classic, but “Silly”ana oru kadhai oops sorry “Sillunu Oru Kadhal” is not even anywhere near it. HDDCS and Silly (Short for “Sillunu Oru Kadhal”) have only one thing in common – legendary music. Period.

Not only was my evening ruined, I ruined it for my in-laws too. Is there any provision under the Indian judiciary to sue the film-makers for attempt to mass extreme mental torture? “Silly” will be first movie to go into that list whenever they make the provision. When the movie ends, there is a slide “Written and Directed by Krishna” as if he has made “Titanic” or something. Bugger Krishna, you better stay indoors for a good amount of time, atleast till Kollywood has a hit and forgets this divine offering of yours!

The story: Surya(Gowtham) marries Jyothika(imaginatively named Kundali) in a village. They move to Mumbai after marriage. And we are 6 years fast forward into the future where Gowtham is a chief mechanic at the Maruti Suzuki plant while Kundali works in a jazzy office with well-done-up-interiors and females running around everywhere. They have a daughter, Ishu, who is 5 years old – that cute kid who is the brand ambassador for all the silk shops in Pondy Bazaar. Gowtham daily drops the kid at school, Kundali at office and head to Gurgaon Haryana and back in his Maruti Swift! Shocked? Check this out, Maruti Suzuki’s only manufacturing plant is in Gurgaon!

Well, if I continue with my nit-picking in the movie, then this review can never end. So, I will let them pass. Let me get on with the story. Kundali reads Gowtham’s diary (bad manners?!) to take the story further. Gowtham was in love with a girl called Ishwarya aka Ishu (Bhoomika) during his engineering days (@ PSB Engineering College, Coimbatore. Probably PSG Tech, the original, didn’t need a product placement ala Maruti since they are already a force to reckon with in the Country!). Ishu was the daughter of an MP – docile and studious while Gowtham was the typical LLB (Lord of Last Bench) at college playing football, driving fancy bikes and drinking beer like water (or was it water itself?!). The way and the context in which she discloses her love for him is so out-of-place and out-of-imagination that I wanted to literally go and shout carefully chosen expletives at the director. Then, what happens? Even that kid Ishu will tell you. Big Ishu and Gowtham get married at the registered office and right there, Big Ishu’s bigger father comes and you have a fight scene where Gowtham is beaten till he is almost dead.

But guess what? The healthcare services in Coimbatore are so good that within days there are no scars on Gowtham’s face where he was beaten with a hockey stick or something similar(that I remember this much is a credit to me!). Just when Gowtham was about to recover and charge to search for Ishu, his chitappa (uncle) falls from the staircase. Probably he had also had enough of the movie. So, he decided to take a fatal fall. But before dying he takes a promise from Gowtham (like all good characters) that he will live a noble life ever after with that girl called “Kundali” from the village.

If you haven’t smashed your monitor to pieces, I shall dare to continue. Maybe I need to call for insurance. Thinking of insurance, I can suggest a new product to the insurance companies. They can insure movie-goers like us against bad movies like these. But yeah, there’s every probability they might go bankrupt if one person like Krishna decides to take them on!

Anyways story is story. I have suffered for 3 hours plus commuting time also, please share my suffering like good friends! After reading all this from the diary, Kundali lands up in Coimbatore in search of Big Ishu. She arranges for Big Ishu to come to Mumbai to spend a “Day” with Gowtham. You know why? In that diary Gowtham would have written, “Even if I had spent a day of my life with you, I would have had the pleasure of having lived for ages. But that was not to be.”

Now what happens in that day? How does Krishna The Great manage to waste your time completely? I forgot the name of the producer, but very soon we will hear of someone going underground unable to bear the wrath of audience and I will know who is the producer. This producer hasn’t paid anyone except Krishna. A R Rahman would anyway deliver. Money or otherwise!