It's not online. --- "ramakrisha laxmana subramanian siva gopala acharya iyer .aiyooo amma idli wada dosa sambar chatni ." <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hey Gops, can your please provide me the link of that?! > > > --- In [email protected], Gopal Srinivasan <catchg...@...> > wrote: > > > > > > A muddled piece the point of which is lost in whether it was about > the lyrics or about film > > music. It further loses credibility when Pinto misdirects the > attack - the lyrics are not > > entirely ARR"s fault, especially when he barely understands the > language and when they are in > > dubbed films. Worse, he ascribes blame to the wrong person - Gulzar > for the lyrics of Rang De > > Basanti. And when he restricts evidence of his criticism to Hindi > songs alone, he completely > > betrays his poor understanding of ARR's music and career. Urvashi > and Muqabla nonwithstanding, > > Vairamuthu won four national awards writing lyrics for ARR-tuned > songs. Finally, pity he didn't > > spot the flashes of brilliance even in a Thakshak. > > > > > > Mind-blowing music, mindless lyrics > > Man's World February 2009 > > > > > > He's a brilliant music maker. But he is also a music maker in huge > demand and this has huge > > repercussions on his music. What if Rahman did a film a year? Would > we get only Lagaans and Dil > > Ses and Slumdogs? Would we see fewer Thakshaks? > > > > By Jerry Pinto > > > > To say life is full of surprises is a cliche, but being in the > midst of numerous other > > assignments, when the sudden call from Danny came through, it was > truly unexpected, and to know > > that Danny had been closely listening to my work caught me by > another big surprise... > > Slumdog... the soundtrack is a result of the mutual admiration we > have for each other and was a > > blast to work on. It was also great fun working with M.I.A. She > brings great flavor and energy > > to the soundtrack. Hope you have the same experience listening to > it as we did whilst creating > > it... as Salim in the last reel of the film states... "god is > great'... > > > > Welcome to India Danny Boyle style > > > > -From A.R.Rahman's official website > > > > Many yers ago, who knows how many years ago, the first sounds began > to trickle up from the > > south. Suddenly, truck drivers were listening to Tamil tunes, and > the world was beginning to > > realize that there was something missing in the music that they > were listening to. > > > > The world? Come on. If you live in Mumbai, the world is Bollywood. > When A.R.Rahman finally came > > out of the shadows, it was with Roja, a dubbed version. This film > punched so many buttons in so > > many places, you couldn't tell what was happening. You didn't want > to like it, it was > > disgusting jingoism, but it was also beautifully shot, it actually > went and looked at Kashmir, > > and there was that soundtrack. > > > > That soundtrack. > > > > Play it again, Rahman, for old times' sake. > > > > * Roja jaaneman tu hi mera dil > > * Rukmini, Rukmini > > * Bharat humko jaan se pyaara hai > > * Dil Hai Chota Sa > > > > Godfathers, was this a man or a machine? In its own way each of > those numbers has inscribed > > itself on our memory. Like every young genius, it was bursting from > him. Nick his skin, it > > seemed and a crowd-pleaser would erupt in a geyser of percussion > and something that felt like > > it belonged to the body of an android, generated somewhere else. A > planet where there were > > simulacra of our kind whose sounds were created in a room full of > machines and pixellated, > > rewritten in some modern script, and then returned to us. > > > > As I wrote in this magazine many years ago, "Not since R.D.Burman, > assisted by a bunch of Goan > > Catholic musicians who had cut their teeth on hot jazz in Bombay's > prohibition nightclubs, had > > we heard anything so new, so strange, so definitively ahistorically > seeped in our music from > > the sa re ga to the jangling theme of Prannoy Roy's debut news > programme The World This Week. > > > > All good? All good. But perhaps not all that good. > > > > Look at the Hindi film lyric, the great classics that went before > Rahman. There were three > > things on which they were pinned. There was the melody, there was > the lyrics and there were the > > somtimes all-encompassing, sometimes insubstantial memories of > where they had occured in a > > film. Many of those who recognize the song, who use it in > antakshari competitions, who hum > > along with it when it plays on a radio show featuring the music of > the 1970s, do not remember > > that, say, "Koi jab hamaray hriday tod de' is in Manoj Kumar's > Purab Aur Paschim. Anna Morcom, > > the British scholar, whom you may see in Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain, > talks about how the Hindi film > > song starts in a parent film but soon makes its way out into the > world where it starts another > > cycle in its life. Rahman began to systematically destory the > underpinnings of one of these: > > the lyric. > > > > Urvashi urvashi, take it easy Urvashi > > Ungli jaise dubli ke, nahi chahiye fantasy. > > > > I know. You have your own version of what the second line is. > Everyone does, I am taking my cue > > from aksharmala.com: Urvashi urvashi, take it easy Urvashi/Hai yeh > ek Hindi gaana, nahin koi > > angrezi... > > > > It gets better > > > > Chitrahaar mein bijli ud gayi? Take it easy policy > > Padne par bhi fail ho gaye? Take it easy policy > > > > That's almost comprehensible. But here it comes: > > > > Baap ne bola, amma ka dushman? Take it easy policy > > Paap kare aur Ganga naha aaye? Take it easy policy > > Urvashi Urvashi, take it easy Urvashi > > > > Sorry, what was that? > > > > As journalist and film reviewer Chetna Mahadik writes on her blog: > Take for example, Roobaroo > > from the film Rang De Basanti (2006). Such fabulous music - my > heart dived and rose with > > Rahman's strokes. But singing it is hell. What cues to use to > remember its nonsense lyrics? > > Take para 2 for example: Jo gumshuda-sa khwaab tha > > Voh mil gaya voh khil gaya > > Voh loha tha pigal gaya > > Kichcha kichhaa machal gaya > > Sitaar mein badal gaya > > > > Now, I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person, but I still > can't understand how > > Gulzar, the lyricist connected the gumshuda khwab (dream) in > question to bloody bigla loha > > (melted iron) or turned it into a sitar (a kind of guitar) or what > exactly is getting 'khiccha > > khiccha' out here, and pray why. I suspect, he tacked lots of > lovely sounding Urdu songs - and > > I bet even shit sounds lovely in Urdu - together in complete faith > that no one would notice. > > Well, guess what. Shower singers do. > > > > Shower singers have a problem with Rahman? > > > > It doesn't stop there. For a long while, we took Hindi film songs > for granted. We assumed that > > it was there, that it would always be there and we could always > take a dupki in our ghar ki > > Gana. In the 1980s, the water dried up. We developed a madness > about disco. Think about the > > songs of that time. > > > > "Main ek disco, tu ek disco, duniya hai ek disco" from Khuddar > (1982) > > Jha-jha-jha-jha jhopdi mein, cha-cha-cha-cha chaarpai from Mawaali > (1983) > > Hum to tamboo mein bamboo lagaaye baithe from Mard (1985) > > Kabhi takiya idhar rakha, kabhi udhar rakha from Raat Andhere Mein > (1987) > > > > Is it any surprise that we began to turn to ghazals to reflect the > more serious problems we > > had, the problems of love and pain and misunderstanding and > disaffection? Is it any surprise > > that Hindi films themselves began to stink? > > > > Rahman is a brilliant music-maker. There is no doubt about that. > But he is also a music maker > > in huge demand. This has huge repercussions on his music. Here is > Rahman in the Wall Street > > Journal, telling the truth 'The demand in India is to have a hit, > which becomes a promotion for > > the movie and makes people come to the theatre, " Mr Rahman > said. "You have five songs and > > different promotions based on those. But when I do western films, > the need for originality is > > greater. Then I become very conscious about the writing. However, > the good thing about Indian > > cinema is because there are so many ragas in it, you can take a > raga and make it a little bit > > funkier and people can relate to it. Half of the stuff I get away > with is like that." But does > > he get away with it? > > > > Can you do that to yourself? Can you write a whole lot of junk, > forgettable songs for > > forgettable films? For the directors, who don't know the > difference? For directors groggy with > > lack of sleep from waiting for the nocturnal Rahman to make his > magic? Can it work like that? > > What do you think if Rahman did only one film a year? Like Aamir > Khan? Would we get only > > Lagaans and Dil Ses and Slumdogs? Would we have fewer Thakshaks? > But does he care? Will he? He > > is no doubt the only internationally recognized Bollywood music > director. Before Slumdog > > Millionaire with its Golden Globes and Oscar nominations there were > Bombay Dreams and the > > musical version of the Lord of the Rings. Not long ago Andrew Lloyd > webber told Sify.com, "In > > Rahman, I met someone who I believe could carry the torch of > musical theatre into a new > > dimension. He's the composer who stands out for me, because I think > his songs are so original > > and yet they have a very universal quality." > > > > Webber said, "Personally for me, it is one of my greatest > achievements that I brought Rahman > > into musical theatre. It is sure to ignite an era of competition > into the genre, for which I > > will be always remembered." > > > > If that is Webber's bid for immortality, he had better start > thinking of another. Bombay Dreams > > was a hit, it ran for a long while thanks in large part to the > thousands of Indians who visit > > London every year and enjoy seeing the results of the reverse > cultural invasion. But its music > > was derivative, Rahman chewing his own tail. The best songs were > the ones we had heard before. > > The new ones? Do you remember any? > > > > There is no doubt that Rahman works harder when he is in the west. > (Who doesn't?) Slumdog > > Millionaire, for which he won India's first Golden Globe, wasn't > his first outing in the West. > > He was the man who provided the music for Shekar Kapur's Elizabeth: > The Golden Age. But the > > film went unnoticed and took the music with it. That's the fate of > the film music maker. The > > fate of his music is connected with the fate of the film. Very few > tunes can survive the flop > > of a film. For instance, how often do you hear that rather > nice 'Musu Musu haasi" from Dino > > Morea's debut Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi? The film tanked and one of > Shaan's best songs went with > > it. > > > > Can Rahman transcend the films that created him? The next big > question. Watch this space. I'll > > be quoting myself again soon, I think. > > > > >
