It indeed is ironic that though we enjoy the western orchestrations in the form of interludes, and preludes in a Hindi film song, if a whole film is sought to be contextualized in this scenario the effort on the part of the producers does not meet an appreciative response. It had happened with KHAMOSHI, incidentally where Salman Khan was the main star and it also seems to be happening with YUVVRAAJ, where Salman again is the main protagonist.
The irony is further exacerbated by the fact when you find that a man of the caliber of A.R. Rahman has held the baton and has had an experience of BOMBAY DREAMS as one of the most successful musicals in the history of Broadway. The woes are also on account of the fact that Gulzar penned the lyrics for YUVVRAAJ. With such an aura of collection the fact that a chord has not been struck with the audience needs introspection. The western nodes of the music of YUVVRAAJ has a flow in the narrative which does not meander and breaks into new areas, forming new streams but is like a river in its mainstream course, where it flows along with the process. When the flow is in the natural course, it is taken as a fait accompli, and this seems to have happened in the case of YUVVRAAJ as well. The music having a richness of content, does not have the crests and troughs in the same proportion that characterize a Rahman product and this could be one of the reasons why the chord has not been established with the audience. Subhash Ghai has been famous for his grandeur and music has been his channel vehicle to stamp the authority of grandeur. Be it a Madhuri Dixit, or a Mainsha Koirala, or an Aishwarya, nearly all of them have benefited from the grandeur of the musical spectacles, which have been the hallmark of Ghai. With the same conviction Katrina Kaif was also given the same treatment, but it has probably happened in a Ghai film that the female actor has been shown herself commandeering a musical instrument, the Cello, by Katrina. Has this experimentation with the audience also been a factor that has not gelled with the audience? If that being so, the attempt of the directors of the caliber of Subhash Ghai to try to deconstruct the image of female actor and give her a western nuance, as he gave to Katrina Kaif in YUVVRAAJ, seems not to have gelled with the audience and therefore the acceptance about his experimentation is not coming. In such a scenario, does it also mean that Salman Khan's image as the singing dancing hero needs to undergo metamorphosis, and also that our actors do not seek inspiration from the past to interpret their characters as it is believed Anil Kapoor did, trying to recreate the magic of EESHWAR. While it may not have been able to strike a chord with the audience, it is but sure that YUVVRAAJ be a hit with the audience in the offshore circuits. The efforts put in by Rahman and Gulzar needs to be appreciated and applauded, and probably the NRIs could make it happen. http://www.glamsham.com/movies/features/08/nov/24-yuvvraaj-another-western-musical-based-film-tottering-ti-swoon-audience-110812.asp -- regards, Vithur
