There are hardly a few things in this world that would prompt a lazy bum like me to sacrifice a peaceful sleep and get up at 3:30 in the morning. The reward must surely be something special. But then there are hardly a few visual treats which compare to the one presented by Tendulkar when he is playing at his sublime best. He's done it yet again. The God of cricket has done it. And the man can't be done enough justice by any amount of words. So just congratulations to him.
P.S : Those who have missed it, just check the shot he played of Ryder (the first ball he bowled today morning). Phew ... does it get better?
Friday, March 20, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Gulaal
I wanted to start this post as a music review of Gulaal but then I realised much of it has already been done at Rediff and here. So I would just touch upon a few things that I feel that the reviews missed and then move on to what this music set about doing in my mind or made me observe a few.
Review : It goes without saying that the album is pathbreaking and phenomenal. While it takes us back to simplicity of music it pushes us into deep thoughtful world through its soulful lyrics. Piyush Mishra has woven a creative masterpiece. While his music and lyrics have done just more than justice to the (anticipated) canvas of the movie (read theme of revolution) its his voice as well which adds to the power of this album. The deep baritone which threatens to crack at a few places gives that raw impetus which makes you feel it within. Seemingly influenced by a street theatre style its a mind numbing rendering by him in his songs. Add to it the thrust of Rahul Ram in a few pieces, what we have is not just musical and lyrical gem but a vocally stand out performance as well. The other singers (Rekha Bharadwaj and Shilpa Rao) also add to the mood. Thus what we have is a complete breadth of an experience that will be registered for a long long time to come.
Coming to the non-review part of the post, the music actually reminded me of a lot of things :-
Poetry in Bollywood : Its been some time that we heard poetry in our songs and not just lyrics. One of the reasons why 50s-60s were called the golden age of Indian film music was the soul they had thanks to some wonderfully penned words. Since the age of Sahir and his ilk its hardly been anyone who has even dared to tread the territory that was their playground. Agreed Gulzar and Javed Akhtar have made a mark for themselves and have their own distinctive style. Apart from them (not withstanding Prasoon Joshi off late) there has hardly been a poetic talent on the scene. And even their talent has also been interspersed whenever they have been given the freedom of a writer by their respective directors. Still there has always been this vaccum that still exists and whenever it is filled (as shown by Gulaal) it does bring in a fresh breeze.
Doordarshan : The music of Gulaal reminds me of the good old serials of Doordarshan which had serials who stood out even for their opening soundtracks. Be it the "Srishti Se Pehle" of Bharat Ek Khoj (listen to the chorus in "Sheher" of Gulaal), "Moonh Ke Baat" of Neem Ka Ped, OST of Vividha by A R Rahman or even Potli baba ke with chhunu vaale baba or chaddi pehen ke phool khila of Jungle Book. That was words, music and more .. Emotions
Hindi : Incidentally, while reading the other two musics reviews what struck me was use of a couple of phrases by them. "Hardcore Hindi" and "shuddh Hindi". It was as if how rare it is to actually read or hear our own mother tongue!! Its perplexing for me further because the Hindi used in the songs is not that difficult after all. Despite the fact that my education was in an English medium school we had a healthy diet of our OWN Hindi literature which was no less than any other. The fact that our mother tongue is beginning to fall in a niche rather than being a commonly understood by one and all gives me jitters. And its for all of us to think where are we taking it?
Brands : To put the point above in a different context, lets for a second assume that "Pure Hindi" is a brand. Suddenly Gulaal becomes its advertisement. Which reminds me of Thums Up and Limca. No matter how hard Coke might have tried it has not been able to kill the brands it bought from Parle (apart from Gold Spot off course). So to think of it as analogy, pure Hindi is such a powerful brand that it will never die. No matter how much of a multinational onslaught or popularisation of English may happen. Hindi will remain as beautiful as ever. And there in lies the hope .. while we may wonder where are we headed, the likes of Piyush Mishra will keep reminding us of our national treasure and so shall it be popular.
That's all for now ...
P.S : I just hope in the coming elections the communists don't hijack gulaal as their songs. But more on that later :) ..
Review : It goes without saying that the album is pathbreaking and phenomenal. While it takes us back to simplicity of music it pushes us into deep thoughtful world through its soulful lyrics. Piyush Mishra has woven a creative masterpiece. While his music and lyrics have done just more than justice to the (anticipated) canvas of the movie (read theme of revolution) its his voice as well which adds to the power of this album. The deep baritone which threatens to crack at a few places gives that raw impetus which makes you feel it within. Seemingly influenced by a street theatre style its a mind numbing rendering by him in his songs. Add to it the thrust of Rahul Ram in a few pieces, what we have is not just musical and lyrical gem but a vocally stand out performance as well. The other singers (Rekha Bharadwaj and Shilpa Rao) also add to the mood. Thus what we have is a complete breadth of an experience that will be registered for a long long time to come.
Coming to the non-review part of the post, the music actually reminded me of a lot of things :-
Poetry in Bollywood : Its been some time that we heard poetry in our songs and not just lyrics. One of the reasons why 50s-60s were called the golden age of Indian film music was the soul they had thanks to some wonderfully penned words. Since the age of Sahir and his ilk its hardly been anyone who has even dared to tread the territory that was their playground. Agreed Gulzar and Javed Akhtar have made a mark for themselves and have their own distinctive style. Apart from them (not withstanding Prasoon Joshi off late) there has hardly been a poetic talent on the scene. And even their talent has also been interspersed whenever they have been given the freedom of a writer by their respective directors. Still there has always been this vaccum that still exists and whenever it is filled (as shown by Gulaal) it does bring in a fresh breeze.
Doordarshan : The music of Gulaal reminds me of the good old serials of Doordarshan which had serials who stood out even for their opening soundtracks. Be it the "Srishti Se Pehle" of Bharat Ek Khoj (listen to the chorus in "Sheher" of Gulaal), "Moonh Ke Baat" of Neem Ka Ped, OST of Vividha by A R Rahman or even Potli baba ke with chhunu vaale baba or chaddi pehen ke phool khila of Jungle Book. That was words, music and more .. Emotions
Hindi : Incidentally, while reading the other two musics reviews what struck me was use of a couple of phrases by them. "Hardcore Hindi" and "shuddh Hindi". It was as if how rare it is to actually read or hear our own mother tongue!! Its perplexing for me further because the Hindi used in the songs is not that difficult after all. Despite the fact that my education was in an English medium school we had a healthy diet of our OWN Hindi literature which was no less than any other. The fact that our mother tongue is beginning to fall in a niche rather than being a commonly understood by one and all gives me jitters. And its for all of us to think where are we taking it?
Brands : To put the point above in a different context, lets for a second assume that "Pure Hindi" is a brand. Suddenly Gulaal becomes its advertisement. Which reminds me of Thums Up and Limca. No matter how hard Coke might have tried it has not been able to kill the brands it bought from Parle (apart from Gold Spot off course). So to think of it as analogy, pure Hindi is such a powerful brand that it will never die. No matter how much of a multinational onslaught or popularisation of English may happen. Hindi will remain as beautiful as ever. And there in lies the hope .. while we may wonder where are we headed, the likes of Piyush Mishra will keep reminding us of our national treasure and so shall it be popular.
That's all for now ...
P.S : I just hope in the coming elections the communists don't hijack gulaal as their songs. But more on that later :) ..
Back ..
Its been a year since I came to write back on my blog. The year seems to have gone past in a blur. What kept me away or what has brought me back is immaterial. What matters is that I'm back and I feel like writing again!
Wishing myself a longer innings this time :)
Wishing myself a longer innings this time :)
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